


The Only Way to Hold On

by Dilettantism



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:36:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 32,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28584360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dilettantism/pseuds/Dilettantism
Summary: Things go a bit differently after Ozai's defeat. Heartbreak forces Aang to consider a different way to restore balance to the world and within himself. If you enjoy political maneuvering and world exploration and angst and romance, you might like this. Eventual Kataang, but it'll be a bit bumpy on the way.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

Aang hesitated at the entrance to Katara’s room. Inside the room someone moaned. Worried, Aang put his hand on the door, prepared to push it open. He paused as the sound was followed by a feminine giggle. Then a male voice joined in the laughter. Puzzled, Aang decided to continue with his mission, to knock on the door and speak to Katara. He balled his hand into a fist and, after a moment’s pause to summon his courage, gave two quick raps.

He needed to apologize for his behavior, and not only for what he did after that awful play. He had also kissed her without permission on the day of their failed invasion. He had long entertained unfair expectations of their relationship. Now that he had defeated Ozai and no longer felt the immense pressure to end the war, he had space to recognize how his awkward advances had bothered his waterbending master. Aang desperately hoped it was not too late to salvage their friendship. Sokka had told him which room was Katara’s, and now Aang could approach her to beg forgiveness without an audience.

After a few agonizing moments Zuko opened the door, bare-chested and mussed. The other boy was turned toward the room’s interior and took a few seconds to properly face the doorway. Before turning toward Aang, the prince called over his shoulder to the room’s other occupant “don’t move! I’ll get rid of whoever it is!” Another light feminine laugh drifted out of the room as Zuko focused an annoyed gaze on the person outside the doorway.

Narrowed eyes relaxed and his disturbed expression softened into a small smile as Zuko greeted the Avatar. “Hey, Aang. Is something wrong? What’s happening?”

Aang felt a shock of understanding rip through him. Moaning and giggling and a near-naked Zuko in Katara’s room needed no further explanation. He might not have any experience of the sort, but he wasn’t an idiot. Apparently the awful play had guessed correctly at the relationship between Katara and Zuko. The ground fell away beneath Aang’s feet and he could hardly draw a breath. All he could think of was escape. He managed to gasp out “Sorry. Sorry. Nothing. I’ll just go now” before he stumbled backward a few steps, his usual grace deserting him.

And then he fled with all the uncanny fleetness airbending granted him. 

Zuko stared after his vanished friend in bemusement before he shrugged and closed the door again. He figured Aang must have caught an inkling of what he’d interrupted and was too embarrassed to communicate whatever he’d come for. Poor kid. Sometimes Zuko allowed Aang’s bending mastery and mature, composed manner to distract him from the kid’s actual age. Which, come to think of it, he didn’t even know. Was Aang 13 yet? The Avatar was definitely too young to be exposed to the sort of activities Zuko had planned for the evening. Zuko tried to ignore a surge of remorse at corrupting the younger boy. 

Guilt evaporated as a feminine voice called “Zuko? I’m waiting for you.” Zuko shook off thoughts of Aang and everything else as he hurried back to the beautiful girl waiting for him.

Aang felt the last of his composure begin to crack before he rounded the first corner. Though airbending ideally called for calm and a centered approach, these were entirely out of Aang’s reach in the wake of his discovery. He nevertheless drew tendrils of air into a revolving sphere that he climbed onto with shaking legs, wanting only to get as far away from Zuko’s palace as he could. Aang was insensible to the opulence of the gold-appointed corridors as he found the closest window and exited the building. Wind snatched his clothing as he sped away from the palace, into the city, and all the way down to the water’s edge. 

He released the air holding him aloft and crashed to the ground. A bright moon cast its silvery light across the waves, but Aang was immune to the night’s beauty. Gasping and sobbing, he allowed misery to wash over him. Unbidden, images of Katara and Zuko together assaulted him. Aang wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to stop crying. He couldn’t prevent himself from picturing her graceful hands touching Zuko, her bright smile directed at the prince, her body pressed against his. The pain spiked at each new imagining.

Hours or maybe eons later the tears wound down. Aang’s head ached abominably and his stomach felt sour and on the verge of losing its contents. Sometimes crying was a relief and left a sense of peace when it stopped. But all Aang felt in the wake of his weeping was despair. He had won the battle of a lifetime, defeating a tyrant and bringing an end to a century-long war. But his satisfaction at the achievement seemed to have drained away with his tears, leaving a dull numbness. The rest of his life stretched out bleakly in front of him. His people were gone. Everyone he’d known in the first twelve years of his life was long dead, but for Bumi. The girl he loved with all his soul, with all the love of his lost people, thought of him as a little brother.

The airbender didn’t know what to do, how to face any of his friends. He had not been subtle about his feelings toward Katara. Presumably, all his friends now knew about her and Zuko. Aang would be the subject of pity from everyone. Aching both emotionally and physically, Aang longed to escape. He had only his glider in the way of belongings to gather. He could grab it, call Appa and fly away, never to be seen again. He could return to the Southern Air Temple, live out his days in exile among the bones of his people, hoping that he would join them soon. As these thoughts flitted through his mind, he thought he might cry again in self-pity. But he had no tears left. 

Aang vaguely recognized how ridiculously melodramatic his thoughts were. Not only were they histrionic, they were also unrealistic. He had promised to stand beside Zuko for the coronation, lending the authority of the Avatar to the proceedings. So he could not simply leave. There was also the horror of what happened the first time he ran away from his responsibilities to check his impulse to run.

On some level, Aang was surprised that he didn’t feel anger toward either Katara or Zuko. He only felt heavy and sad. If there was any anger in his mess of emotions, it was entirely self-directed. He had been so stupid, expecting a beautiful girl to want more of him than friendship. He hadn’t been deceived or betrayed. Katara finding joy with someone else was no betrayal. Neither she nor Zuko owed him anything, least of all denial of their true emotions just to appease a silly kid.

However, once his duty was discharged, he had to get away. Aang did not want to be without the company of those he’d come to love so dearly, but he knew he could not bear to witness more of the romance between Zuko and Katara. If he stayed, he risked tainting all of his friendships with his disappointment and heartache. But if he left tomorrow, perhaps he could return to them after he allowed enough time to pass that thinking of Katara no longer brought such immense pain. 

He wished he had the Air Nomad elders to consult. He remembered some older boys discussing meditations and practices to alleviate suffering caused by thwarted love. But any specifics were beyond his recall. At the time, he’d been too young to think that unhappiness in romantic love could ever apply to him, though not too young to think of romantic love at all. Ruefully, he acknowledged that whatever rituals his people developed to heal heartbreak were now as lost to him as the exact mixture of pigments used to color his tattoos. Air Nomads were not proponents of ‘if only’ thinking, but Aang couldn’t stop himself from imagining how much peace and healing he could have garnered from time spent among the wisest of his people. He longed even for sour old Lobsang with his permanent scowl of disapproval. 

If only.

However, the wisdom and brilliance of the Air Nomads were gone beyond what meager bit he’d absorbed in his short time with them. And the world was sadly out of balance without their influence.

Aang stared morosely at the watery horizon, trying to guess what advice Gyatso would have had for him. As he gazed at the bright ripples of light on the night-dark sea, Aang found himself unconsciously shifting his weight and straightening into an upright seated posture. Long practice allowed him to easily slip into a meditative state, dismissing thought and grief alike. His eyes closed.

The ocean breeze slid over his bare scalp and dried the salt water from his cheeks. Aang felt the muscles in his shoulders unknot as he narrowed his focus to the air moving in and out of his lungs. His knees fell open towards the ground as his breathing slowed and the attendant relaxation loosened his hips and spine. Ruefully, Aang recognized that he had stored a whole lot of emotional suffering in the muscles of his entire body. He acknowledged the thought and dismissed it.

Once again he lost track of time. Breathed in. Breathed out. 

When he opened his eyes, clouds had covered the moon and left complete darkness. Staring at nothing, Aang felt his second thunderbolt of the night as inspiration struck him, a way forward both for him and for the world. He could lose himself in this idea, sublimate his pain and work toward achieving balance, within himself and without. His sorrow and pain were undiminished, but he believed there would be an end to them eventually. Filled anew with purpose, Aang rose fluidly and took the first step of his new journey.


	2. Chapter 2

Night had fallen over Caldera City, but the quiet bustle in the palace continued unabated as people busily prepared for the coronation of a new Fire Lord the next day. 

Katara stood hesitantly in front of the door to Aang's room. She tried to calm her nerves by breathing slowly while mentally reciting the names of all thirteen foundational waterbending stances. She closed her eyes and pictured each posture in turn. When she finished she did feel slightly calmer. Katara supposed that was as much as she could hope for when facing such a momentous conversation. She and Aang were finally going to talk about their feelings and their relationship and what each meant to the other. She only had to gather enough nerve to alert Aang to her presence.

But the door swung open before she could raise her hand to knock. One of the palace servants, resplendent in red and gold livery, stood on the other side holding an empty tray. Katara guessed the surprise on his face mirrored for her own.

“Excuse me, miss,” the man murmured, sliding past Katara with the ease of someone trained to avoid notice.

All the convoluted Fire Nation rules of etiquette made her doubt every interaction with another person, but Katara had come prepared to speak through discomfort. Pushing down her uncertainty, Katara diffidently asked the man “is the Avatar in his room?”

Consummately professional, the man bowed his head slightly as he replied “no, miss, but I have left a light snack for when he returns. Would you like to wait for him inside?”

Katara realized that though she was prepared to have a difficult conversation, she was not disposed to sit and wait before having it. If she went into Aang's room, she'd probably end up pacing and increasing her turmoil. She decided to expend the energy tracking Aang down rather than wearing a groove into his floor.

“No. Thank you. No, I don't think so.”

The man nodded respectfully and waited to be dismissed.

Katara, unaware of this facet of palace protocol, crossed her arms over her chest as she thought. Her forbidding scowl as she did so quickly convinced the servant not to stand on ceremony. He turned and left her in the corridor with a bit more speed than was strictly proper. She may be just a girl, but she defeated Princess Azula he thought as he hurried back toward the kitchens.

The waterbender spent another irritated moment pondering where to search for Aang, then set off toward the stables that had been reconfigured to house Appa. 

Her first glimpse of the sky outside stopped her momentum. It seemed much darker here than at home, and full of strange stars. In the relative darkness, the moon shone impossibly bright. Ever since Hama's awful lesson Katara had a new fear-tinged response to the moon. This moon wasn't full, so it didn't cause the terrible longing to seek out the water inside others and bend it to her will. But it still set her on edge.

Katara shook her head, breaking the moon-spell so she could continue down the moonlit path to Appa. And Aang. She hoped the path also led to Aang so this conversation could be behind her instead of looming in front of her.

She smiled as she reached the large wooden structure and saw Appa's face above the half door of its entrance. “Hi Appa” Katara crooned and burrowed her fingers into his soft fur. She opened the door and slipped inside the shelter. The waterbender leaned her face into Appa's warm cheek as she continued to stroke his fur and murmur endearments. “I guess Aang's not with you, is he?” 

Appa groaned and Katara wondered, not for the first time, just how much he understood. Privately, she figured he understood nearly everything. He probably even knew why she wanted to find Aang. 

“I don't suppose you could tell me where he is, could you?” She giggled when Appa licked her in reply. With a slight arm motion, she directed the copious slobber away from her skin, then leaned against the giant animal. Appa sounded a happy grumble. The air bison's simple affection left her feeling lighter than air and, for the first time that evening, relaxed and happy. 

And why shouldn't she be happy? The war that had overshadowed her entire life was over. She and her friends had played integral roles in ending it. She had her father back. She had made true friends who she believed would last her entire lifetime. She thought she might be in love—real, soul-deep love that could also last a lifetime.

Reluctantly, she patted Appa's head one last time and told him “I need to find Aang.” Whimsically, she added “Will you tell him I'm looking for him?” before she began walking back to the palace. She left the door open behind her. Appa was not some dumb beast who needed to be fenced in or caged. She would mention to Zuko that his staff should not confine Appa.

Heavy clouds had rolled in while she visited Appa. With the moon intermittently obscured, Katara concentrated on carefully picking her way back to the palace. Looking down, she failed to notice the person coming toward her.

Katara grunted as she walked right into a solid form. She stumbled back a step and nearly fell before a strong arm steadied her.

“Tui's gills, Katara, watch where you're going!” her brother ground out as he wobbled a bit, one arm clutching his sister, the other his crutch.

“Oh sure, I'll be certain to look ahead instead of at this unfamiliar path where I may trip and break my neck!” Katara snapped back.

Sokka sighed loudly, visibly reining in his temper. “Calm down. I didn't realize how dark it was getting. Did Aang find you?”

Katara felt the blood rush to her face. “Aang is looking for me? I haven't seen him” she replied in a rush, omitting the fact that she'd been searching for Aang, too.

“Yeah, I told him to check your room because I figured you'd be trying to get plenty of rest before the big day we have tomorrow. But I guess he didn't find you in your room since you were out haunting the palace grounds like an ancestral ghost” Sokka responded.

Katara replied with annoyance “Seriously, Sokka? Aren't you also out wandering the grounds? Were you looking for me?” 

“No,” Sokka grunted, “I had a bit too much wine and wanted to clear my head a bit. If I had known you'd try to knock me down I would have gone straight to bed.”

Katara felt her irritation with her brother increase. “Ugh, stop trying to start a fight” she huffed. “How long ago did you see Aang, anyway?”

Sokka, unsure, tilted his head back and made a humming noise. “An hour? An hour and a half?” he guessed. Then he noticed the sky, worriedly surveying dark clouds and steadily decreasing moonlight. “C'mon, Katara, let's head back to our rooms before we get caught in a storm. I'm sure we'll catch up to your boyfriend inside. He's probably waiting in your room.” Dropping Katara's arm, Sokka gestured toward the palace and started walking in that direction.

Though Katara blushed fiercely at the word 'boyfriend,' she determined that finding Aang was more important than bickering with her brother.

The siblings continued toward their destination. As more clouds covered the moon, Sokka came to recognize the wisdom of his sister's insistence on watching her feet. Both teens were relieved to reach the palace entrance after several near-falls. Navigating unfamiliar paths in increasing darkness with three good legs between them had proved challenging.

Once inside, Katara turned toward the right and her brother toward the left. 

Sokka stopped abruptly. “Where are you going? Our rooms are this way.”

“No, yours are,” Katara corrected, “but I offered Mai the room I was using so she could be closer to Zuko. The suites filled up so fast with officials and dignitaries that she was way over in the south wing, by the training grounds. Zuko is healed enough to not need me nearby any longer, and I thought he'd appreciate having Mai close.” 

“Flying hog monkeys, I told Aang you were in the room next to Zuko's. You could look for him there. Or maybe check your room first? Mai would have told him where you moved when he found his way to her door.”

Katara hesitated, trying to determine which which way to go. Finally, she decided to try her current room. Surely Aang had found his way there by now. 

“Thanks for letting me know Aang was looking for me, Sokka. I'm going to my room. If you see Aang again, will you let him know I'm in the firelily room?”

“Sure thing, sister of mine. South wing. Training grounds. Firelily room.” Sokka replied with a little smile.

Impulsively, Katara hugged her brother. He might be a pain in her neck, but he always supported her when it was important. It struck her that her fixation on finding Aang had distracted her from her duty as healer and sister. “How's your leg feeling? Do you need another healing session?” she inquired of her brother.

“It doesn't hurt any more, only feels weak. You do good work, healer Katara. I think I'm okay without more healing.” 

“You're sure?” Katara asked.

“Yeah.” Sokka winked and added “go find your boyfriend.”

Katara glared at him and pivoted away abruptly. “He's not my boyfriend,” she grumbled before striding toward her room. “Yet,” she added too quietly for Sokka to hear.

Except he did hear and smiled ruefully at his sister's back. He shook his head and began hobbling up the corridor to his and Suki's room, marveling at the thought of his little sister dating the Avatar.

Katara found her room sadly empty. She hesitated in the entrance, unsure if Aang had been there yet. She wondered how he would see the opulent space with its ornately carved blond-wood furniture and gilded moldings. At least, she thought, whoever decorated this room broke from the heavy red and gold theme found in the rest of the palace in favor of a pale yellow. 

Surveying her luxurious suite, Katara felt exhausted all of a sudden, worn out by the emotional whiplash she'd experienced since the end of her battle with Azula. She felt the aftereffects of the lingering fear and worry she'd experienced while waiting to hear if Sokka had stopped the Fire Nation fleet and if Aang had returned to face the Fire Lord.

Phoenix King, Katara mentally corrected with an eye roll as she slid her feet out of her shoes. She drew a thin stream of water from a porcelain basin placed on a small table and moved it across her face and hands. Katara did not have the energy for a full bath, but wanted to feel fresher when she talked to Aang. 

She flopped down onto the bed with its thick mattress and pile of fluffy pillows. In her head she rehearsed how she would tell Aang that she wanted to be more than his friend. Earlier, she had worked out exactly what to say, but doubt was setting in. Perhaps, she thought, it would be better to show him instead. Aang seemed to favor the surprise kiss as a way to communicate romantic intent. Maybe, Katara thought, she could return the favor. 

She pictured herself flinging her arms around him and pressing her lips to his. Katara placed her fingers to her lips as she remembered the three times they had kissed. Her lips had tingled with each one, even the one she pulled away from. Yes, she decided with a yawn, she would kiss him and he would know that meant she felt the same way he did. Fingertips still touching her mouth, Katara leaned back against the copious pillows and imagined how happy she would be making both of them.

A small smile still graced her mouth when sleep claimed her.


	3. Chapter 3

Zuko slowly drifted toward consciousness, feeling unusually content. When he opened his eyes, he remembered the reason for his happiness. Mai lay next to him in the bed, sleeping soundly. He briefly placed his hand against her smooth cheek, thinking it would not disturb her. However, Mai was always on guard, even when sleeping. She propelled herself out of bed, knives flashing deadly glints of silver upon her palms. 

Zuko froze. “Mai? It's just me. Zuko? You said I could stay if I kept my pants on!”

Mai blinked slowly and returned her blades to wherever she hid them when not threatening or causing grievous injury with them. “I'm a light sleeper and a blade master. It's probably a good idea to speak before you touch me when I'm in a vulnerable state.”

Shaking his head in fervent admiration, Zuko noted “I don't believe you're ever vulnerable.”

Mai's thin, dangerous smile showed how much the statement pleased her. Invulnerability was indeed a key facet of her goals for life. She glanced at the room's large window where the darkness outside was just beginning to give way to sunrise. “You should leave. It will be daybreak soon. People will be looking for you.”

Zuko reluctantly stood. He spotted his shirt crumpled on the floor beside the bed. “Will I see you again before the coronation” he asked as he pulled on the shirt.

“No,” his girlfriend replied, “I need to get back to my parents. My father is refusing to accept you as the rightful heir to the throne. I may have some power to convince him you are.”

“If anyone can, you can,” Zuko murmured as he took Mai into his arms one more time.

Mai turned her cheek into Zuko's kiss, then lightly pushed him away. “Get out of here.” But she was smiling again as she said it.

Zuko didn't see her smile fade. Nor did he see her brow crease and strain distort her features when she began to plan her approach to her father. He had enough burdens and worries without adding hers to the tally.

Zuko slipped into his room next door without being seen. But he barely had time to muss his bed before a soft knock announced the trials of the day were beginning. Sighing in resignation, Zuko trudged across the floor and opened the door, expecting to see palace attendants.

He was startled to instead find Aang in the entryway, appearing somehow smaller and sadder than Zuko had ever seen him. Aang slowly lifted his gaze, a look of resolve firming his features and giving the other boy a glimpse of how the Avatar would look in adulthood. Huh, who knew Aang was so good-looking, Zuko mused.

“May I come in?” Aang asked. “I'd like to talk to you about something.”

“Sure,” Zuko responded. He stepped away and gestured for his friend to enter. The prince looked around, noticing unrolled scrolls piled on every flat surface. He scooped the mess off two chairs and deposited it onto a nearby table. The pile of papers tilted precariously for a moment before reaching an equilibrium without toppling. Zuko gave a satisfied nod and lowered himself into one of the velvet-upholstered chairs. He motioned Aang toward the other.

Aang sat. For a few moments he was quiet, apparently gathering his thoughts. Zuko waited but began to bounce his knee back and forth as the silence became uncomfortable. Finally, Aang began to speak.

“I know I said I'd help you and support you in making peace with the other nations, but I can't stay.” Zuko started to interrupt until a fierce glare from Aang stopped him.

“My duty as the Avatar is to the entire world and to the future, not to you or our friends.” Aang continued. “Last night when I meditated it came to me that my most pressing task is to bring back airbending and the Air Nomads. Without us, who will teach the next Avatar? And what about when the cycle comes back to air? If there are no airbenders, does that break the cycle? What would it mean for the world if there were no Avatar? We've seen what happened in a mere hundred years without one; we cannot risk permanently losing the Avatar spirit.”

Zuko didn't wait to hear more. “The Air Nomads are gone! I hate that it's so and I hate that my family is responsible, but there's no way to bring them back!” Zuko's shame made his voice more strident than he intended.

Aang observed Zuko intently. Zuko squirmed under the Avatar's serious eyes. In that moment, he no longer faced a younger friend, but the ancient spirit of the Avatar, who had kept the balance for longer than human memory extended.

Aang held Zuko's eyes a beat longer, then spoke again. “The Air Nomads were wanderers and they often intermarried with people from other nations. There are bound to be others in the world who carry the blood of my people. I don't know if that is the solution, but it seems a possible one. I plan to begin by consulting Guru Pathik and, if I can, the lion turtle. And anyone else I can think of. There has to be a way forward, and I will find it.”

Zuko considered for a moment. “You could talk to the fire sages, too.”

“Yes! That's a good idea.” For the first time that day, Zuko saw a hint of Aang's usual liveliness. “But here's the sticking point, Zuko. This is a journey I have to take on my own. The rest of you have family and duties to your own people. You need to help me convince everyone to let me leave by myself.”

“Oh no,” Zuko groaned. “No way. Katara will murder me in my sleep.” 

Zuko hadn't imagined that an expression of such rage was possible for the airbender. He found himself instinctively leaning away from Aang. Feeling physically harmed by Aang's glower, Zuko conceded, “Okay. Okay. I'll support you. You may even be right. But you leaving on a personal quest also impacts the plans Uncle Iroh and I have been formulating for implementing peace.”

Zuko sifted through the pile of papers on the table until he found the missives he and his uncle had exchanged since the defeat of Azula and Ozai. He handed them to Aang saying “here's what we've worked out, and you have a big role to play.”

Aang drew his feet under him in the chair and began to read. Zuko stood and paced anxiously while Aang perused the pages, flipping through them so quickly that Zuko assumed that Aang didn't think the plans merited the Avatar's full attention. 

He narrowed his eyes as Aang set the papers back onto the pile. “I thought you'd at least read everything and give it full consideration. This is important” Zuko griped.

Mildly, Aang responded “I read everything. Forming an international council with two representatives from each nation and the Avatar as a deciding vote in the case of a tie seems like a good plan. I agree with your uncle that each nation should be able to choose its own council members rather than your proposal that I choose. I also don't want veto power over who is chosen. Let's see....You lumped the two Water Tribes together, but the Northern and Southern Water Tribes should have separate representatives; they're not one nation and have very different political structures as well as different needs and priorities. There should also be two places for Air Nomad representatives. Even if I am unable to revive my people, the empty positions can serve to remind the council of the danger of one nation becoming too aggressive.” Aang paused and regarded Zuko for a moment.

“The Fire Nation colonies need to withdraw from Earth Kingdom lands at once. It doesn't matter how long they've been there or how entrenched they are. Individuals who have made lives there should be allowed to stay if King Kuei is amenable, but all governance must be handed over to the Earth Kingdom immediately. You need to show that the Fire Nation will be run differently, that the age of conquest and subjugation is done.” 

Zuko bristled at Aang's commanding tone. He glared at his friend and started to reply, but was halted by Aang's raised hand.

“Zuko, has the Fire Nation since Sozin behaved with honor?” Aang pressed.

Zuko sat back down disconsolately. He dropped his head into his hands and mumbled “no.” 

Aang asked, more gently “do you wish to restore honor to the Fire Nation?”

Zuko met his eyes and nodded grimly. 

“Then you need to listen. I'm speaking as the Avatar now, not as Zuko's friend. Your nation has caused great pain and imbalance. You will have to make many concessions for people to accept your good intentions going forward. None of this is your fault, but the burden of correcting it falls to you.”

“Okay. You're right. Somehow I will help the people of the Fire Nation understand.” Zuko muttered. “But how are you going to provide the decisive vote if you're not here, or wherever the council is meeting at the time?”

Aang shrugged helplessly “I don't know. I wish there were a way you could contact me if needed.”

Inspiration struck Zuko. “Messenger hawks!” he exclaimed.

“But I'll probably be moving around a lot. How will they find me?” Aang asked, puzzled by the logistics.

“There are paired messenger hawks used in Fire Nation intelligence. They can always find each other, so agents on the move keep one of a pair with them. Their commander has the other bird and can get messages out without knowing the recipients precise location.” Zuko explained.

Excitedly, Aang asked “Can you get me one today?” 

“I should be able to,” Zuko replied.

“Good.” Aang responded . He continued “Yesterday you said the White Lotus had located King Kuei and they were sending him here to witness your investiture. Has he arrived yet?”

Zuko groaned at the realization that he had completely forgotten about the Earth King. “I don't think so. Someone would have come to tell me if he had.”

“You should meet with him and Chief Hakoda when he does. Present your plan and allow them to make suggestions or alterations. Call in secretaries once you are all in agreement and have the details written into a peace treaty that the three of you can sign at the celebration following the ceremony” Aang suggested.

“That should work. Ugh, my day keeps getting busier.” Zuko felt doubt about his ability to be Fire Lord creep in again.

His apprehension must have shown on his face because Aang reassured him “you can handle it. This is what you were born to do.”

“Thank you, Aang.” Zuko said sincerely. “I'm really glad you eluded the assassin I sent after you” he added slyly.

Zuko peeked at Aang out of the corner of his eye and felt a surge of relief at the wry smile that appeared on his friend's face. Zuko didn't understand Aang's strange mood. His demeanor had been so stony, so un-Aang-like, during their entire exchange, except for the one moment of blazing outrage. Before today, he couldn't recall ever seeing the Avatar truly angry. Zuko kept flashing back to Aang's shockingly furious glare and feeling a shudder run through him. Enraged Aang was rather blood-chilling.

Aang cut into Zuko's musing with “I'll make a general announcement of my plans after the peace treaty is signed, if you'll allow me some time to address everyone.” At Zuko's nod, Aang stood, saying “I'll leave directly afterward.”

Before Zuko could reply, a light knock on the door sounded. “Come in” he called.

The door burst open and Katara hurried inside, saying “Zuko, King Kuei is here and wants to --” Noticing Aang, she stopped speaking abruptly and turned toward him with a bright smile “Aang! I've been looking everywhere for you!” she burbled as she rushed toward the airbender, one hand reaching for him.

Aang slipped past Katara, avoiding her hand. “Katara. I can't talk now. Too much to do.” he called over his shoulder as he left the room with astonishing haste.

Zuko stared after Aang in complete bafflement. When he redirected his eyes toward Katara, she stood frozen with her rejected hand fisted against her stomach. She lowered the hand and shook her head, a confused and hurt look in her eyes.

“Umm, I don't know why he left like that. He's acting very weird this morning.” was all the explanation Zuko could offer.

Katara straightened her shoulders and faced Zuko directly “I'll deal with him later. Are you ready to meet with King Kuei?”

Zuko looked down at the rumpled clothing he'd been wearing since the previous morning, then touched his equally disheveled hair. “I could use a few minutes to clean up. Will you tell King Kuei that I'd like to meet with him and Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe to work out a peace treaty? Then maybe you could let your father know, too?”

Katara surveyed Zuko's state of dissolution and smiled wanly. “I guess you appreciated the room switch?”

Zuko scowled back at Katara, but was unable to maintain the expression. “Yes. Thank you, Katara.” 

“You're welcome. At least someone is having romantic success.” Katara frowned as she looked toward the doorway where she'd last seen Aang. With a resigned sigh she focused on Zuko again and added “I'll go talk to Kuei and my dad.”

Zuko refrained from further comment as he watched Katara leave. He wondered when Aang and Katara had broken up. It's really a shame their relationship didn't work out, Zuko thought, they seemed so crazy about each other.


	4. Chapter 4

Aang couldn't leave Zuko's room fast enough. It was a good thing he'd mastered the Avatar state, or he'd have entered it for sure when Zuko casually mentioned sleeping and Katara in the same breath. While Aang would have sworn he wasn't angry about them being together, his reaction to Zuko's statement made it clear that on some level he was. He wasn't pleased with himself for it, but at least now he recognized it and could take steps to ensure his anger didn't spill over onto his friends. He'd had plenty of practice in sublimating anger since he awoke from the iceberg, so he knew he could do it. The righteous anger had deserted him when he saw Katara, though, leaving only sorrow. Seeing how at ease Katara was in the prince's room had made his eyes sting and his chest ache.

And Katara wanted to talk to him. Aang could only assume she wanted to tell him unequivocally that she was not interested in him romantically, that she was Zuko's girl. Perhaps a good friend would have stayed so she could say what she needed to. But Aang felt he understood without also having to listen to her tell him she could never love him the way he loved her.

He had to get his mind off the other two benders. Agonizing over their relationship was only making him more miserable, so he decided to visit Appa. His oldest friend could almost always make him smile. Glancing at the sun's position just above the horizon, he concluded he had time to take Appa on a quick flight before he needed to clean himself up and dress for the coronation. Inspired, he rushed to his room to grab his glider. 

When he reached his room, he realized that he actually had a number of possessions he should pack up, not solely his glider as he'd thought the night before. He quickly gathered his spare clothes, his shaving kit, his bison whistle, and packed them into his bed roll. At the last moment, he kept the staff out of the bundle, feeling more himself with it in his hand. He wished he still had all the possessions that had been lost when Appa was stolen. They had been tangible connections to the Air Nomads. Every piece had been painstakingly crafted and reflected the traditions and aesthetics of his people. Perhaps he might find replacements at one of the air temples. He planned to visit all four of them to salvage what he could and to perform the proper observances over the bones of his people. On that sobering thought, he departed. He planned to leave his belongings with Appa so everything would be ready for departure after his announcement.

A rush of joy spilled over Aang when he saw Appa rolling around on the turf in the middle of an expansive green space. Several royal gardeners cowered behind nearby topiary and watched the air bison with combinations of fear and annoyance. Aang couldn't suppress his laughter at the gardeners' reaction to the air bison. He didn't even try, so relieved was he to feel something other than sorrow.

“Appa!” he called to his friend, who rose to his feet and galloped toward him.

Aang's laugh rang louder as he dropped his bedroll and embraced the air bison with the arm not gripping his glider. Appa's enthusiasm ultimately knocked Aang off his feet, which made him laugh harder. The gardeners regarded the interaction in stunned horror.

Still chuckling, Aang directed a blast of air toward the ground, raising himself first to his feet, then into the air and onto Aapa's head. He settled into a cross-legged seat and placed his staff across his knees. “Appa! Yip! Yip!” he called.

The flap of Appa's tremendous tail flattened plants in a wide circle and knocked over the closest palace gardener. The woman lay stunned on the ground for a moment before scrambling to join the other gardeners as they fled toward the palace proper.

With a bit of consternation Aang realized he hadn't even thought of attaching Appa's lead to his horns. Luckily, the bison responded well to verbal commands from Aang, if not necessarily from anyone else. While Aang couldn't exactly translate Appa's various vocalizations, he always understood Appa's intent. And Appa clearly understood everything Aang said. 

Aang knew the bison, like him, longed for the freedom of the sky, wanted to feel the thinner air above the clouds. So up they went, climbing higher and higher. Aang closed his eyes and savored the cool moisture as they ascended through the layers of fluffy white. Dazzling light danced across his closed lids as they cleared the cloud layer. He opened his eyes again to see a cushion of blinding white below him and bright blue skies above. Gaps in the cloud layer offered glimpses of land and sea below. The heavy clouds of the night before had blown out to sea. Aang imagined his dark mood flying from him and joining those thunderheads somewhere beyond the horizon.

Aang flopped forward until he was prone on his companion's massive head. The airbender rubbed his cheek against Appa's soft fur and murmured compliments to his steadfast friend. He lay there for a long while, allowing the bison to fly wherever his fancy took him. Aang simply enjoyed the feel of wind whipping over and around him. The day was perfect for flying. Suddenly, riding on Appa wasn't enough; Aang wanted to be surrounded by his element above, below, and all around. 

With a whoop, Aang launched himself off Appa's back. He plummeted until wind caught the wings on his staff. Then his dive flattened and he was flying. Delighted at being truly airborne, Aang grabbed hold of the air around him and focused a stream of it under the right side of his glider, sending himself into a twisting roll. He laughed as he came level again, then tilted the staff into a forward loop. Appa came alongside Aang and joined in the aerial acrobatics. 

When he noticed the air warming as the sun climbed higher, Aang determined it was time to return to the palace so he could ready himself for Zuko's coronation. He flew above Appa, then dropped down onto the bison's head. Reluctantly, he told Appa “okay, buddy, back to Zuko's palace.” Appa grumbled in reply, but slowly turned back.

When they reached the stable Appa settled on the ground again. With a wistful sigh, Aang hopped off the bison and gathered a small pillow of air to slow his descent. Once his feet were again planted on the earth, Aang was relieved to see his bedroll was still where he'd thoughtlessly dropped it. He stooped to gather his belongings, then carried them into the stable. Meager sunlight filtered through the doorway and a few high, dust-encrusted windows. There was barely enough light to make out Appa's saddle in one corner of the large open space. Aang deposited his staff and bedroll on top of the saddle. When he turned to go, Appa regarded him curiously through the doorway. Aang gave his friend one last quick hug and told him “see you tonight” before heading back to his room to prepare for Zuko's coronation.

Before Aang reached his room, though, hunger pangs had him seeking out food. He followed the smell of cooking down several long hallways until he located a huge kitchen. A swarm of people worked on elaborate dishes for the feast that would follow the coronation. Aang hesitated, wondering if he should seek a dining area rather than risk interrupting anyone's work. Before he could make up his mind, a tiny woman dressed in a pristine white tunic approached him.

“Lord Avatar, sir, you missed breakfast. I've sent Ling to your room with a tray” she said in a booming voice that seemed at odds with her diminutive stature.

“Oh, I didn't realize. I left my room pretty early and haven't gone back yet.” Aang took a step backward as he finished speaking.

The woman reached into a basket on a nearby table and drew out a round green fruit. Or maybe it was a vegetable? Aang didn't recognize the food, but was happy to accept the gift when the chef tossed it to him. He turned it over in his hands, trying to figure out if he needed to remove the peel before eating it.

“Uh, thank you” Aang said as he backed out of the kitchen. He took a risk and bit into the orb. Delicious sweet juice filled his mouth. Aang realized he wasn't just hungry; he was famished. He was concentrating on eating the fruit, so he didn't see Katara until she stopped directly in front of him. He felt his cheeks burn. Had she been looking for him since his awkward flight from Zuko's room?

Katara was wearing her blue warm-weather tunic, her hair loose, spilling over her shoulders in a distracting cloud. Even with her current grave expression, she looked so lovely his chest ached. He needed to talk to her, to affirm their friendship even in the face of his romantic disappointment. So, hesitantly, he looked into her eyes. “Hi, Katara” he said with a wobbly attempt at a smile.

“Aang, I'm glad I ran into you. Surprised, but glad. We should talk,” she told him firmly, unsmiling.

And Aang's determination to face Katara and hear what she had to say deserted him. “I know we should, but I really can't right now. I've been out with Appa and I need to bathe and eat and have a final fitting of my formal clothes before the coronation.” All these things were true, but his motivation was mostly to avoid the conversation Katara wanted to have. “I'm sorry. Can we talk afterward?” 

Katara studied him seriously, her brow wrinkled in thought. She must have seen something reassuring, because slowly she nodded. “Okay” she said, her face relaxing. 

Then she aimed a small, shy smile at Aang. She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him. Aang's heartbeat stuttered, then raced. He closed his eyes and tried to quell any romantic thoughts with limited success. Feeling her warm body pressed against his, smelling the sweet scent of her hair overwhelmed him. After a final tight squeeze, Katara dropped her arms and moved away from Aang. “Good luck” she told him, “find me afterward; I really need to talk to you.”

Aang drifted back to his room in a daze, hunger momentarily forgotten. He found a surprising number of people inside—impatient seamstresses and their assistants, a palace servant, and Toph.

“Hey Twinkletoes!” Toph called out gleefully from her seated position on a low chair next to the hearth. “You should try these cold noodles; they're great!” She held up a delicate porcelain bowl filled with food to which she was helping herself.

The servant regarded the earthbender balefully, then pointedly presented a tray laden with food to the Avatar. “Lord Avatar, sir, I've brought you some snacks since you didn't take breakfast.” Aang remembered the cook telling him she'd sent a servant named Ling to his room with food.

“Thank you, Ling” Aang told him politely as he took the tray from his hands. The tray was covered in small dishes filled with nuts, dried fruit, more noodles, and some delicate almond-scented cookies. He was pleased to see that there was no meat. Aang waited for the servant to leave to no avail until a long-ago etiquette lesson nudged him. “That will be all,” he added.

Ling left with a bow and Aang looked about for a place to set down the large tray. Toph toed the ottoman in front of her chair in his direction. “Put the food here and we can share.”

Aang smiled ruefully as he deposited the tray on the upholstered footstool. Then he sat on the floor facing the food and Toph. 

Before he could eat anything or say a word, the lead seamstress appeared beside him and cleared her throat. “Avatar Aang, your garments are ready for you to try. If you could come over and allow us to dress you, we will make any final adjustments that are needed.”

Toph chuckled as Aang sighed loudly, then rose and crossed his room to where the other seamstress waited. “Don't worry, I'll save you some of the things I don't like!” She then rededicated herself to eating his food.

Aang undressed and allowed himself to be garbed in a Fire Nation approximation of Air Nation clothing. It wasn't bad, exactly. But it felt weird to have loose cloth flapping around his calves. He glanced ruefully down at his body which was completely obscured by all the baggy fabric. He was finally developing some muscular definition, looking less like a boy and more like a young man, but now all of it was hidden beneath swishy cloth. He slumped a bit as the seamstress declared his outfit “perfect.” So much for his hope that the final product might fit a bit more snugly. 

Aang watched morosely as the workers gathered up their tools and departed with compliments about how nice he looked. Oh well, he thought, at least I can eat now.

“It sounds like you're wearing bedsheets” Toph joked as Aang seated himself near the rapidly vanishing food.

Aang laughed “It feels like that, too. What have you been up to this morning? Other than stealing my breakfast?” 

He began to eat as Toph regaled him with her morning's adventures, which categorically did not include playing pranks on members of the Fire Nation nobility...even if some of the things Toph described sounded exactly like playing pranks on members of the Fire Nation nobility.

“And then I said 'What statue? I don't see anything!' and walked away” Toph finished with a chortle as Aang polished off the last of the dried fruit. She continued “Now that the food is gone, I have other places to be. You should take a bath; you smell like a wet mink-ferret.” So saying, she rose majestically from the low chair and left the room.

Aang sniffed at his arm worriedly after his friend sauntered through the door. Then he ran his hand across his scalp, feeling the prickles of new hair growth. Even if he didn't smell as bad as Toph intimated, he did need to shave. He rose gracefully and headed toward the bathing chamber.


	5. Chapter 5

“The treaty is acceptable; I will sign it at the celebration.” King Kuei said. Bosco, sitting on the floor at the king's side, growled softly.

Hakoda cast a skeptical look at the bear. Then he nodded in agreement and added “I'm ready to sign it as well.”

Katara nearly cheered. At some points during the discussion of the peace treaty, it had seemed the three leaders would never reach a consensus. She was happy that her father had invited her to participate in the negotiations and was proud of the suggestions she had added. But mostly, she was relieved that they had managed to massage the document into something everyone found acceptable.

Zuko addressed the secretary who was busily transcribing the final version of the treaty. “Please bring the official treaty to the celebration later today. Avatar Aang, King Kuei, Chief Hakoda, and I will sign it then.” Facing the other occupants he said “thank you all for your contributions. Please take the time between now and the coronation to rest and enjoy the best hospitality the Fire Nation can offer.” He too looked askance at King Kuei's companion. Shaking himself a bit, he met his fellow ruler's eyes and inquired “are there any special accommodations required for your companion?”

King Kuei appeared pleased at Zuko's consideration. “No, Bosco will stay with me. He is very easy to please and will eat what I do.” Smiling, Kuei directly addressed his friend “How about a walk through the lovely gardens we glimpsed on our way into the palace, Bosco?” With a cheery wave to the room's other occupants, King Kuei departed, Bosco lumbering along beside him.

Katara glanced at her father. She saw in his face the same mystification she and her friends had felt upon their first encounter with Bosco. She shrugged and said “it's not really any weirder than having a flying bison as your best friend, is it?”

“No, but that's pretty weird, too” her dad answered. 

Katara, as usual, bristled at even the mildest perceived criticism of Aang. “Aang is not weird! He's a hero! He has saved my life more times than I can count. And he saved all of our lives when he defeated Ozai!”

Zuko intervened before father and daughter could disagree further. “Chief Hakoda, have you settled into your room in the palace? Is there anything you need?”

Hakoda cast a sorrowful look at his daughter but answered Zuko “Thank you, I want to see the people who were imprisoned here after the Day of Black Sun. You said they were provided rooms in a nearby inn after their release. Can someone show me the way?” Turning to his daughter, he added “would you like to come with me?”

Katara shook her head. “I'd like to see everyone again, but Sokka should know the details for the coronation. I tried to find him before we met here, but couldn't. Maybe I should try the kitchens?” She hesitated for a moment. She felt the strain beginning to creep back into her relationship with her father. His comment about Appa made her worry that he disapproved of Aang. She had to figure out how to get her dad to spend more time with a conscious Aang. She knew that was all it would take for her dad to love him, too. Aang would be his usual irresistible self and her dad would fall under the spell of the airbender's charm. Feeling reassured by this line of thinking, Katara bridged the gap between her and her father. She hugged him and promised to see him soon. Then she set off in search of a kitchen, hoping her guess about Sokka's whereabouts proved true.

Instead she found Aang and had yet another strange encounter with him. If she didn't know better, she might have thought he was trying to avoid her. His behavior had been so unusual. He hadn't even put his arms around her when she embraced him!

Katara turned back toward the room Sokka was using, determined to stop obsessing over her relationship with Aang until she had a chance to talk to him again. She smiled when she saw Suki approach. “Hi Suki, have you seen Sokka?”

“Oh yes. Yes, I have. He's in our room, complaining about his leg.” Suki replied with a shrug. “I thought some food might cheer him up, so I'm looking for the kitchen. And I smell food, so I must be getting close.”

Katara laughed and hooked her arm through Suki's, “Come on, I'll take you there. I might be a bit hungry, too.”

When they reached the kitchen, both girls were overwhelmed by all the delicious smells. A small competent-looking woman met them and offered to send a servant to their rooms with food.

“We don't want to make more work for your staff,” Suki insisted. “If you have a basket and will allow us to fill it with some simple things, we could be out of your way in no time.”

The cook wouldn't hear of them coming into the kitchen, but quickly wrapped up some cold sliced meats, small buns, and fruit and placed them in a large basket. Suki and Katara resisted her efforts to send someone to carry the basket for them. 

“I'm a Kyoshi Warrior, I can handle a basket of food.” Suki told her.

The two girls chatted amiably about Fire Nation architecture while they ambled toward the wing of the palace housing Zuko's closest friends. Suki was surprised by how similar to her home some portions of the Fire Nation Capital looked. 

Sokka greeted them enthusiastically when they reached him. “Suki! Katara! Food!” the Water Tribe boy shouted as he limped toward the girls, Momo perched on his shoulder. 

Katara snickered at her brother's predictable response. Suki set the basket of food on the floor and convinced the others to have an indoor picnic. The luxurious silk rug underfoot contrasted oddly with the simple woven basket, but it was considerably softer than anything outdoors.

Sokka carefully lowered himself to the floor next to the basket while Katara watched anxiously, hoping he could manage with his injury. When he was seated with his broken leg stretched out in front of him, Katara knelt gracefully facing him. Sokka dug into the basket and arrayed the wax-cloth-wrapped parcels on the floor between him and the girls. Momo, who had remained balanced on Sokka while he sat, jumped down to investigate the food. 

“Hey, this is nice!” Sokka observed. “A picnic with my two favorite girls!” He turned slightly toward Katara “have you seen Dad yet today?”

“Yes. I sat in with him, Zuko, and King Kuei while they worked out the details of a peace treaty. I tried to find you before I went in, but you weren't in your room and I didn't know where else to try.”

“Suki and I were making sure the other Kyoshi Warriors were released. Damn, I wish I'd been able to participate in the peace talks. How did they go?”

“Really well. They plan to start an advisory council composed of representatives from all nations that will work to settle disagreements before they become violent. Both Dad and King Kuei had some great suggestions, and not only for the council. Dad told Zuko he wouldn't sign any treaty that didn't include the release of all people from other nations being held prisoner in the Fire Nation. And King Kuei added that the Fire Nation needs to take financial responsibility for returning the released people to wherever they wished to go in their home country as well as compensation for lost income during the time they were imprisoned.” Katara explained.

“Wow, I wouldn't have guessed King Kuei would come up with anything so practical.” Sokka mused. 

Katara shook her head “I think he learned a lot about his people and what they really want and need while he was traveling incognito. He had some shrewd observations and good ideas.”

Suki asked “but what about people who were imprisoned for serious crimes? Do they all get to go home, too?”

Katara explained “Well, the treaty went into a lot of specifics, but basically, yes. For some crimes they'll have to face whatever form justice takes in their home country. Dad and King Kuei argued that the abuses committed against people by the Fire Nation were the root cause of many of the crimes, so they're very inclined to prioritize mercy and rehabilitation.”

Suki's pretty mouth twisted into a grimace “I hope they don't have cause to regret their decision.” 

They ate quietly for a while. The sliced meats were seasoned with unfamiliar spices, but all three found them quite tasty. The fruit was all perfectly ripe and sweet. As they ate they discussed Fire Nation cuisine. Momo begged food from each of them in turn until he was so full he curled up next to Sokka's hip and fell asleep, soon emitting soft purring snores.

Katara continued her summation of the negotiations. “I told Zuko that he needs to learn the fate of all the benders captured from other nations and to inform their people.” She studied her brother carefully, dreading his reaction to her next revelation “I specifically asked that Hama be released and returned to the Southern Water Tribe.” 

Katara was braced for his explosive “What?!? Why would you suggest such a thing? She's evil!”

Katara studied her hands, interlacing her fingers and gathering her thoughts. “Is she, though?” She looked up and met Sokka's eyes steadily. “I've thought about her a lot lately. She was tortured for years. I know she did bad things, but anyone might if treated so terribly for so long. She and Gran Gran were friends once. Don't you think Gran Gran is a good judge of character? Would she be friends with someone who was evil?”

“Ugh, Aang is really rubbing off on you! What are we going to do with her at home?” Sokka demanded. “It's not as if we have a jail we can throw her in if she starts using people as puppets again!”

Katara replied simply “I thought I'd ask her to train me. To teach me the bending traditions of our own tribe.”

Suki had silently observed this interplay between brother and sister. But at this point she interrupted with “Didn't she already teach you something you wish you could unlearn? Why would you give her more chances to hurt you?” 

But Sokka nodded reluctantly. Katara knew he also felt the pain of their tribe's decline. They lost so many of their customs when the waterbenders were kidnapped and the best warriors killed. Their people struggled to merely survive. Forget about carving beautiful fripperies out of whalebone. There wasn't time or energy for anything unrelated to survival. They had the stories of how things used to be, but the war had taken away so much. Suki, who came from an island that had remained untouched by the Fire Nation for most of the war, didn't have the same understanding of loss as the Water Tribe siblings. She had suffered at the hands of the Fire Nation, but her home was largely intact.

“No, Suki, I get it. The North is pretty different. Their bending probably is, too. Hama is Katara's only hope of learning Southern Water Tribe-style bending.” To Katara, he added “And Dad agreed to take her south?” 

Katara answered “Yes, he did. And, before you ask, I did tell him the whole story before he consented.”

All three people sat silently for several long minutes. Katara had thought the hard part of ending the war was over. Sitting in on treaty talks demonstrated that the end of the war was only the first step on a long and likely difficult path to peace. 

Feeling a need to counter the somber mood, Katara smiled and told the others “King Kuei asked if Bosco could be one of the Earth Kingdom representatives to the Council of Nations.” 

Sokka smirked “Now that sounds more like the King Kuei we know and love.”

Katara turned slightly toward Suki and apologized “I'm so sorry I didn't ask yet about the other Kyoshi Warriors. How are they doing?”

Katara and Sokka listened while Suki spoke warmly about her girls and how brave and strong they were. The Water Tribe siblings agreed wholeheartedly and they passed a pleasant hour nibbling on their picnic and chatting about mutual acquaintances.

A loud series of pealing bells interrupted them. “Oh! The coronation!” Katara exclaimed.” That's the signal that it will begin in an hour! I need to wash up and brush my hair.” 

Suki jumped up and hurried toward the door. She called over her shoulder, “I need to get into my uniform and meet up with the other Warriors. I'll see you in the plaza!”

Katara turned to Sokka “I can stay with you if you need help getting ready. Who cares if my hair's a mess, anyway, right?”

“True, Aang thinks you're beautiful even when you haven't bathed in days. And you don't care what anyone else thinks. But go pretty yourself up anyway, I can manage on my own.”

Katara huffed and started to leave, then stopped and asked her brother softly “Does he, though? Has he said anything to you? Because he keeps running away every time I try to talk to him.”

Sokka laughed “He doesn't have to say anything. It's obvious to everyone that he is crazy about you. Even a literal blind person can tell he's head over heels for you. Ugh. I can't believe you've roped me into talking about your love life. Oogies.”

Katara let out a surprise laugh at her brother's unusual word choice. “Okay. Okay. I'll see you at the coronation.”

xxxxxxx

A Fire Sage rang a gong and Katara joined in as the people gathered in the square cheered Zuko's entrance loudly. Who would have guessed a year ago that she would be standing in the Fire Nation capital applauding the Fire Lord?

Zuko raised his hand for silence. He said “Please, the real hero is the Avatar” and gestured toward Aang as the Avatar slowly walked onto the stage to raucous cheers. Aang stopped when he reached Zuko's side and stood quietly, allowing the observers to loudly express their joy.

Katara drank in the sight of him. Aang looked so self-assured and calm. His gaze swept over the people cheering for him and seemed to stop on her for a long moment. Her heart raced as she met his eyes and smiled. Zuko was right, Aang was the biggest hero ever and she was so proud of him. 

Zuko continued “Today, this war is finally over. I promised my uncle that I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation. And I will. The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided, but with the Avatar's help we can get it back on the right path and begin a new era of love and peace.”

A Fire Sage came forward bearing the Fire Lord's crown. Zuko knelt and bowed his head slightly. The Fire Sage tucked the crown into Zuko's topknot, saying “All hail Fire Lord Zuko!” Zuko rose and stepped forward to tumultuous clamor. He paused and looked back toward Aang. Their eyes met and the two teens smiled. Zuko gestured for Aang to join him. 

Zuko again addressed the crowd, “Thank you for coming today. I hope everyone will stay for the celebration that begins right now in the pavilion on the east lawn. Avatar Aang, King Kuei of the Earth Kingdom, Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe, and I will sign a peace treaty that will officially bring this war to an end. And then there will be food and music and dancing for the rest of the day.”

The loudest cheers yet greeted the new Fire Lord's announcement. The crowd began streaming out of the square, heading toward the east lawn.

Toph came toward the Water Tribe contingent, grinning. She asked Katara “Do you have your dancing shoes on, Sugar Queen? I bet Twinkle Toes is saving a dance for you.”

Suki giggled and added “I bet he's saving all his dances for her.”

Katara looked back at her dad with red creeping onto her cheeks. “Dancing does sound like fun. And we have to get Dad there in time to sign the treaty.” She chuckled weakly and added “Wouldn't want them to sign it without him.” 

“I won't be joining in the dancing, but food and music sound pretty good.” Sokka added.

Hakoda put an arm around each of his children and started following the crowd. “Well, come on, everyone. Let's get this over with.”

The pavilion was a huge stone building facing the palace across a wide expanse of green lawn. Garlands of brightly colored flowers wrapped the columns lining the entryway. When Katara entered the building she saw tables of elegantly prepared food around the walls of the huge room at the end of the colonnade. On a large, low dais facing the entry sat a dark wood table with four chairs along one side. King Kuei was already seated in one of the chairs looking distinguished in his green silk robes with Bosco on the floor directly behind the dais.

Hakoda led his children and their friends to the edge of the dais. He mounted the platform and seated himself next to King Kuei. The two men inclined their heads toward each other and Katara thought proudly that her dad looked just as regal and composed as the king did. 

The two men were soon joined by Aang and Zuko, who used some hidden entrance behind the stage. Aang sat next to Hakoda and Zuko took the final chair. Then one of Zuko's secretaries mounted the dais carrying a sheaf of pages. Her height and self-assurance easily captured the audience's attention. The crowd pressed closer as she read the treaty aloud. In the jostling, Katara and her friends were forced further away. Katara grumbled, beginning to have difficulty seeing over the heads of people in front of her.

Instead of standing on her tiptoes trying to see her dad and the others, she decided to watch the crowd and observe their reactions to the terms of peace. Most of the people she could see nodded as the woman read about the Council of Nations. She saw some dubious expressions and some angry ones when the conditions for withdrawal of the Fire Nation colonies were read. At length the woman finished reading and presented the pages to Zuko for a signature. He signed with a flourish and handed the pages to Aang who seemed distracted as he scrawled his signature. Her father and King Kuei also marked their formal agreement to the terms and the room filled with polite applause. This portion of the day clearly did not capture the imaginations of the observers as the coronation had. 

Zuko stood and once again addressed the people gathered in front of him. “Chief Hakoda has agreed to bring this agreement before the Northern Water Tribe after he leaves the Fire Nation. It is our hope that Chief Arnook will also agree and join us in signing this treaty. The palace will keep everyone apprised of developments in that direction. Before you disperse to the food and entertainment, though, Avatar Aang has asked to speak to you.”

Katara and Sokka eyed each other curiously at the news that their father would be traveling to the North Pole. From their puzzled expressions, this was clearly news to both of them.

Zuko sat again as Aang rose and began to speak. Katara's brow knitted as she noticed how pale and tired he appeared.

“Fire Lord Zuko called me the real hero, but if I am a hero it is only because of the friends who taught and supported me since I woke up displaced in time. First and foremost, I owe my deepest gratitude to Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. She was my first teacher in this time and has become my dearest friend. All the times I thought there was no way for me to succeed, her faith in me gave me the strength to persist.”

Katara felt her cheeks burn when Sokka patted her on the shoulder. She smiled up at Aang, but couldn't catch his eye.

Aang continued “I must also recognize my earthbending master, Toph Beifong, the greatest earthbender in the world. She taught me to stand firm when I must. And my friend, Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, would say he had nothing to teach me. But he is wrong. He showed me the true meaning of loyalty and provided unmatched innovation and strategy for our endeavors.” At this Aang caught Sokka's eye and his look clearly conveyed his absolute sincerity.

Aang turned to the person seated next to him and a brief smile flickered across his drawn features “Fire Lord Zuko himself taught me firebending and though he tried to assign all the credit for our victory over Ozai to me, it could not have happened without him.”

As proud as Katara had felt of her father, it was a candle flicker to the brilliant sun of her pride in Aang. It was so entirely Aang-like to praise his friends and give them all the credit for his success. 

Aang continued in a sober voice “My friends, I have asked more of you than anyone should have to give. And it is time for you to return to your families and your lives. The job falls on me now to find what remains of my people and discover how to continue their legacy. It will be the task of many years, perhaps even of a lifetime. I cannot ask you to accompany me on this long and likely thankless journey. You are the best the world has to offer and your people need you to lead their way into this new age. Thank you for everything. “ Aang's voice was thick when he added “Good bye,” then turned and stepped down from the dais. He disappeared behind the draperies that covered the back wall.

Katara stared after him, dumfounded. He wanted to leave her? He thought she wanted to go back to her life as though she'd never met him? She turned to Sokka and saw that his expression mirrored hers. Shock, hurt, and anger struggled for supremacy. Katara could feel the sting of incipient tears and she cleared her throat as she tried to find words to encompass the betrayal she felt. Sokka looked equally lost for words.

Toph found the right thing to say. “If that idiot thinks we're letting him fly off without us, he doesn't know us nearly as well as he claims to!”

Sokka was the next to find his voice “Yeah! Let's go set him straight.”

Katara started to speak but found her throat too tight, so she merely gave a firm nod. Then she beckoned the others to follow her as she led the way to Aang's room, figuring he would need to stop for his possessions before leaving.

They arrived at Aang's room breathless. Sokka's limp had grown more pronounced and by the time they reached the airbender's door he was muttering imprecations on the Fire Nation and its stupid huge palace.

Katara pushed the door open unceremoniously, yelling “Aang!” But there was no one inside. “Oh no, his glider's not here” Katara announced with a sinking feeling. She looked around the room, examining it more closely. There was no sign Aang had ever stayed there—no clothes, no toiletries, no bedroll. Aang had already cleared out all of his belongings.

“Appa!” Sokka declared. At his sister's confused look, he clarified “He'll need Appa to leave. We should try to get to him first.”

Katara, Toph and Sokka raced as quickly as they could to Appa's shelter. Katara hoped Sokka wasn't aggravating his injury, but couldn't bring herself to slow down. Once they reached the edge of the green space where Appa had been staying, though, Toph came to an abrupt halt.

“Appa's not here.” she announced bitterly.

“Okay,” Katara answered “maybe he's in a different area. I told Zuko he had to allow Appa to roam freely and-”

Toph cut her off “No. Appa is not anywhere around the palace. I don't sense him at all.” 

Sokka leaned against his crutch with a pained expression and tried to catch his breath. “I think we missed him” he said sadly.

Katara felt her knees give way. She landed jarringly on the ground. Then she simply knelt and looked up to the sky, too devastated to say anything. 

Aang was gone.


	6. Chapter 6

Zuko watched regretfully as Katara left on her quest to find Sokka. When she'd first shown up he had felt intense irritation as she immediately launched into a lecture about how his staff treated Appa. But she had calmed down after he'd called in his head groundskeeper and asked that him to inform his staff that the air bison should be treated as an honored guest, able to come and go at will. And she had proved indispensable during the negotiations, offering helpful insight and smoothing communication with her father, who had compelling reasons to hate the Fire Nation.

Shaking off his musings about his friend, he asked Hakoda “Do you have any idea how the Northern Water Tribe will respond to the treaty?”

“None at all” Hakoda responded with a helpless shrug. “My mother was born in the North, but she refuses to talk about her life before she arrived at the South Pole.” Hakoda tapped his fingers against his thigh as he seemed to ponder something serious. “Perhaps I could deliver the treaty to Chief Arnook. I'd like to reestablish diplomatic relations with the North now that the war is over. And he might find me a more palatable envoy than any of your people. Unless you were planning to ask the Avatar to go?”

A surge of gratitude overcame Zuko. Getting to know their father, he understood why Sokka and Katara were so remarkable. He couldn't help comparing his father to Hakoda and felt deep sorrow and shame. He deliberately reminded himself about the Avatar reassuring him that he did not bear the blame for the awful deeds of his ancestors. He was his own person and only responsible for his own actions. 

“No, Aang has another task he's undertaking. I'd really appreciate it if you brought the treaty to Chief Arnook.” An idea occurred to him. “I'd be happy to provide one of our airships for your journey north” he offered the other man.

“In addition to the agreed-upon help rebuilding the Southern Water Tribe fleet?” Hakoda asked shrewdly. Once Zuko nodded his agreement, Hakoda clasped his hand in acceptance and said “Thank you.” Hakoda paused, then showed his wide, engaging smile. “Fire Lord Zuko” he added formally, with a small inclination of his head.

“You're welcome, Chief Hakoda” Zuko responded with equal formality.

Hakoda chuckled, then gestured toward the room's exit. “How do I get to where my men are?” he asked.

Zuko started to give directions, but recognized the way might be difficult for someone unfamiliar with the city. Instead, he pulled the long cord that would ring bells in the servant quarters and summon one. “I'll have one of the palace servants lead you there and get you back in time for the coronation.”

Hakoda nodded, then, with a pained expression, asked “What can you tell me about my daughter's relationship with the Avatar?”

Zuko cringed. This, he thought, is the true danger of making friends. Suddenly you're all tied up in other people's lives and expected to explain and intervene and run interference with their families. “Uh, they're best friends? Maybe they were dating before, but not now? I think?” he answered weakly. 

“Isn't he a little young to be dating anyone?” Hakoda wanted to know.

Zuko nearly fell to his knees in gratitude when a liveried footman arrived and saved him from answering that question. He instructed the servant to take Hakoda to the Bronze Lion and lead him back along with his countrymen. Zuko let out a long breath of relief as he watched the two men depart. 

Zuko experienced a sudden pang of longing for Mai. He wondered if she had convinced her father to support him as the Fire Lord. He hoped so. Ukano knew everyone in the Capital City. His support or obstruction could severely affect Zuko's ability to lead the Fire Nation.

Zuko walked to the small window in the corner of the gloomy room. He looked toward the sky, trying to gauge whether he had time in his schedule to call on Mai. Reluctantly, he realized he did not. He has promised Aang he would try to get paired messenger hawks today. The negotiations with Kuei and Hakoda had taken longer than he had naively hoped they would, so he needed to make arrangements for the hawks now or they would have to wait until after the coronation. He set out in search of Admiral Liang. In addition to serving as the leader of the Western Fleet the Admiral oversaw communications for the entire Fire Navy.

Zuko walked through the door that connected the conference room to his bedroom suite and grabbed a hooded cloak from his wardrobe. He threw it across his shoulders and pulled the hood up before leaving the palace, hiding his face entirely. He hoped to accomplish this one task unnoticed and unaccompanied by the phalanx of officials and guards who seemed intent on hounding his every step. The prince quickly crossed the two blocks between the palace and the military communications center. The ground floor of the building was one large room with many large open windows lining the walls. Messenger birds swooped in and out constantly. Uniformed communications personnel intercepted the hawks, collecting incoming messages and sending out new ones. Lowlier workers dealt with the unsavory result of so many birds flying through the space, sweeping and mopping up the detritus.

Luckily, Admiral Liang was easy to find, having ensconced himself in his office at the top of the stairs to the second floor. However, even his private office offered no respite from the tumult. When Zuko entered, several other officers surrounded the man, all talking at once. The admiral, a short man with the most average features Zuko had ever encountered, didn't appear to be listening to them. Instead he busily scanned messages brought in by hawks from across the kingdom. Zuko knew his inattention was misleading. No doubt Liang was storing away every word spoken in the vault of his matchless mind. Piles of paper surrounded Liang and he sorted the messages onto different piles after reading them. With a groan, Zuko saw the label on the basket holding the most towering pile of messages read “Fire Lord/Immediate Attention.” Admiral Liang looked up at Zuko's groan. Zuko removed his hood and nodded to the man.

Liang quickly stood and bowed low, cutting off the other soldiers' voices with a booming “Prince Zuko, sir.” 

At the sound of the prince's name, the others quieted and quickly exited the office, acknowledging Zuko with silent bows before leaving. In several seconds, only Liang and Zuko remained.

Despite the fact that Liang had served his father faithfully, Zuko liked the man. He displayed none of the blind obedience and sycophantic tendencies that marked most of Ozai's favorites. Liang had risen quickly through the ranks due to an unusually brilliant mind and a facility with languages. He read and spoke Northern Water Tribe and five different Earth Kingdom dialects in addition to the common tongue and his native language. He had deciphered several secret codes used by the Earth Kingdom military. His indispensability in matters of intelligence had insulated him from Ozai's wrath even when Liang had openly disagreed with the old Fire Lord. And Zuko had enormous respect for anyone who openly disagreed with his father.

“Hello, Admiral Liang,” Zuko began. “I want a pair of bonded messenger hawks. The Avatar is going on an extended mission and I want a way to contact him if he's needed.”

Liang looked pleased and approving. “That's a clever idea, Prince Zuko. I can easily accommodate that request; come with me.”

Liang led Zuko back downstairs where a sea of eyes now followed their progress. He led the prince to an aviary on the side of the building facing away from the busy street outside. After a bit of discussion of the habits and personalities of several hawk pairs, Zuko selected the birds he thought would serve Aang's situation best.

“Uh...it would be conspicuous for me to walk through the street back to the palace with two hawks. Could you send someone behind me with the birds? They can be delivered to the stable off the south lawn.”

Liang chuckled at the thought of the person who would be the Fire Lord in short order skulking through the streets of his capital city in disguise. “Yes, I do believe I can manage that.”

Zuko smiled gratefully and started to turn away. Then he stopped. He didn't know how a Fire Lord who wasn't a nightmare would behave, exactly, but he thought that rewarding intelligence and loyalty wouldn't be a bad start. He turned back to Liang and addressed him warmly. “Thank you very much for your assistance. I hope you'll join us in the palace for the coronation and the celebration following it. We'll begin an hour past the mid-afternoon bells.”

With another look of approval, Liang nodded “I would like that.”

When he reached the palace again, Zuko was immediately surrounded by advisors and attendants who'd been perturbed when they were unable to locate the prince such a short time before his crowning. They quickly ushered him back to his room where they dressed him again in more formal clothing and generally twittered about him adjusting his hair and instructing him on his posture and demeanor until he yelled “enough!”

Finally alone, Zuko flopped into a chair and leaned his head against the back. Was he really ready for this? Ready to take on the responsibility of repairing the damage done by his ancestors not only to the world, but to the Fire Nation itself. He had no example to follow. Maybe he could ask himself what his father would do in every situation, then do the exact opposite. He had really hoped to keep Aang by his side during the first few months of his rule. He trusted his friend's wisdom. And it would have been nice to have someone to consult who he knew was not angling for greater personal power. The Avatar was already the most powerful person in the world and had no need to manipulate the Fire Lord to gain more influence. 

No detectable sound preceded the dry announcement. “You look like you're torturing yourself.”

Zuko jerked his head up and saw Mai, looking cool and lovely. He smiled. “Is it that obvious?”

“Only to me” she replied with a small smile of her own. She crossed the few steps to his chair and settled onto his lap. “So, are you worried that you'll trip and fall when you kneel to be crowned? Or that you'll be a terrible Fire Lord who is hated by his people?”

“Trip and fall?” Zuko groaned. “I hadn't even considered that possibility.”

Mai laughed throatily. “Glad I could help.”

“Aang is leaving on some grand quest to restore airbending to the world. I was really relying on having someone I could trust to consult about all the decisions I'm going to have to make.” 

Mai's gaze turned icy. “It's too bad there's no one in the Fire Nation you can trust. “

Zuko felt the burn of the blush that rose to his cheeks. “I'm an idiot.”

Mai lowered her lids flirtatiously, then met Zuko's eyes with a slight smile curving her lips. Zuko's heart flipped in his chest at her look.

“Then it's a good thing you have someone smart around to keep you in check” Mai told him.

“Yes, a very good thing,” Zuko replied quickly. “I don't suppose you'd consider being the Fire Lord's girlfriend and advisor?”

Mai shook her head “unofficial advisor only. I much prefer being the power behind the throne.”

She lifted her hand to his cheek, fingers resting on the edge of his scar. He loved that the scar didn't matter to this perfect girl. It wasn't that she didn't notice it. The first time she saw it had been the only time in his life he'd ever seen tears in her eyes. But she didn't pay it greater heed than she did any of his other features. Zuko closed his eyes as their lips met. His skin heated and his heart raced as the kiss deepened. But his mind finally quieted.

They remained in the embrace until an attendant entered the room and said “It's time, Prince Zuko.”

xxxxxxxx

Zuko saw Aang sitting in a meditative posture on the floor. Beside him were curtains emblazoned with the Fire Nation's emblem. Through those curtains lay the future. Zuko thought back to his first encounter with the Avatar, remembered how stunned he'd been by Aang's youth. He looked so much older now. 

“I can't believe a year ago, my purpose in life was hunting you down. And now” Zuko paused, unsure how to finish. A week ago he'd have said they were friends, but Aang's odd behavior had him confused. Had the airbender decided that he couldn't be friends with someone from the Fire Nation now that the exigencies of war no longer demanded cooperation between them?

Aang smiled “And now we're friends”

“Yeah, we are friends.” Zuko felt reassured that Aang still thought so. If the Avatar found him worthy of friendship, perhaps he could manage to be a good leader for his people, after all.

“I can't believe a year ago I was still frozen in a block of ice. The world's so different now.”

“And it's gonna be even more different.” Zuko stepped forward and placed his hand on the shorter boy's shoulder. “We'll rebuild it together. Even if we're not in the same place. Oh, you will find a pair of messenger hawks in the stable where Appa has been sleeping. Take one of them with you when you leave and we'll be able to reach you if we need you”

Aang embraced him briefly. Zuko turned and stepped through the curtains to a long hallway. At the end of the hall was the stage where he would be officially recognized as Fire Lord.

Then everything was a blur until he found himself leaving the table where he'd just signed a treaty. Though he had no memory of what he'd said or done, the people around him looked happy, so it must have gone okay? He felt the weight of the crown on his head as well as the tiny teeth along the bottom edge biting into his scalp. He wondered if the designer of the crown had made it uncomfortable on purpose, as some sort of reminder to accept the difficulties of duty along with the adulation and power.  
As he stepped down from the platform people surrounded him. He smiled and nodded for what felt like hours while they pressed too close and offered their congratulations. Then Mai was by his side and somehow she cleared the crowd away with such subtlety that no one took offense.

He offered her an elbow and asked very properly “Would you take a turn around the room with me, Lady Mai?”

Mai tucked her hand into the proffered elbow and replied “It would be my great delight, Fire Lord Zuko” in the least delighted tone imaginable.

Zuko laughed. He glanced around the crowd as they walked, looking for his other friends. He saw Suki in a knot of Kyoshi Warriors, all of them decked out in their uniforms and face paint. And apparently Ty Lee had joined their group. Huh. That was surprising.

Zuko continued scanning the room. And then he spotted the other three people he'd hoped to locate. Toph, Sokka, and Katara had just re-entered the room from the direction of the main entrance. And something was wrong. Katara's eyes were red and she leaned against Sokka. Sokka's mouth was set into a thin slash and a muscle jerked in his clenched jaw. Toph's clenched fists clearly conveyed her dangerous mood. Zuko abruptly changed direction and started toward his friends. 

A tongue of blinding red flame licked into the space he vacated, barely missing Mai's face. Another jet of flame followed closely behind, catching Zuko's shoulder and setting both his clothes and a hank of hair alight. By the time he registered that he was under attack, Mai had knives in both hands and was searching the room for his assailant. Zuko slapped out the fire and quickly called heat to his hands, preparing a flaming counterattack. His blast went wide, narrowly missing a guest who stood frozen in fear. 

Most of the gathered people stared in shocked disbelief, then started stumbling away from the fracas, but Admiral Liang pushed through the throng, calling “To arms! The Fire Lord is under attack!” He drew a sword and stepped to Zuko's side.

The Kyoshi Warriors also sprang into action. “Defend the Fire Lord!” Suki yelled as the warriors ran to him. Flames burst toward them and Zuko was finally able to locate the attackers. Five masked men clad all in black raced toward him, shooting fire indiscriminately as they ran. The Kyoshi Warriors formed a protective circle around him and he groaned. He wanted to defend himself, not be defended!

Out of the corner of his eye, Zuko caught a glimpse of Ty Lee tumbling through the air. She landed next to the closest assailant and jabbed him so rapidly under each arm that her hands blurred. A third strike directed at his hip sent him sprawling to the ground. The man next to him went down with one of Mai's knives sticking out of his thigh, blood pouring from the wound when he pulled the blade free. He was struggling to rise again when Ty Lee kicked his chin. His head struck the floor with an ominous thunk and he subsided.

The tallest of the remaining attackers shoved Ty Lee into the other Kyoshi Warriors. Ty Lee hit the ground, her arm making an audible crack as another Warrior sprawled across her. Ty Lee's gasp of pain was lost in the panicky cries of the feeling crowd. Two of her sisters helped her to her feet while the others closed rank around their injured comrade.

Zuko narrowed his focus to the three attackers who were still standing. “I need at least one of them alive” he yelled and threw a thin whip of flame between the Kyoshi Warriors and at the legs of the man who'd taken out Ty Lee. He howled in pain and dropped to the floor, pounding at the flames that engulfed his pants. Zuko smelled burning flesh and his stomach turned.

Katara sped into his field of vision, riding a thin plate of ice that slid across the floor with blinding speed. Water coated her arms and extended into long tendrils that she used to fling the two final attackers backward. She thrust the water at the men and froze it to the floor, trapping them. She was out of water after that and stepped to the side so the Kyoshi Warriors could physically restrain the men.

Zuko shouldered through the Kyoshi Warriors and stalked toward the would-be assassins. He thrust fiery hands toward the face of the man he'd burned. “You're going to tell me everything now.”

The man spit into his face and screamed “Long live Fire Lord Ozai!” before biting down dramatically, convulsing, then going limp.

Zuko muttered “What the...”

Suki interrupted him, frantically yelling “Stop them! They have some kind of poison!”

But her warning came too late. Four of the attackers lay eerily still. The fifth had been knocked unconscious by Ty Lee's kick. More worrisome than his unconsciousness was the pool of blood spreading beneath his thigh. Zuko knelt by him, pressing his fingers to the man's throat. He thought he felt a faint flutter of a pulse.

“Katara, can you heal this one?” he asked the waterbender, looking up to meet her furious gaze.

With a grim nod, Katara bent the now unneeded water freezing two dead men to the floor, bringing it to coat her hands. She paused for a moment and the water began to glow. Katara knelt opposite Zuko and placed her palms against the sticky mess on the downed man's thigh. The glow slowly faded. 

Katara sighed deeply, met Zuko's eyes and shook her head. “He lost too much blood. I can close the wound, but it won't be enough to save him.”

Zuko rose slowly, feeling years older than when he'd escorted Mai around the room. “Admiral Liang, have your people take custody of the bodies. See if they can find out who they are. I need you to help me question everyone here. Katara, please see if anyone needs healing.”

The admiral bowed and set to work, calling his soldiers over and having the bodies carried out. 

Zuko walked back to the dais and mounted it. Raising his voice, he spoke to the room at large “The danger is past, but Admiral Liang and I need to speak with all of you to investigate this matter. Please find a table, sit down, and wait for us to come to you.”

His friends met him as he stepped down. Sokka led Toph who was cursing the 'stupid wood floor.' Mai reached for him and he was stunned to see that her hands trembled. He leaned into her embrace and bent his head against her shoulder briefly as she pulled him close. 

“It's okay. I'm okay.” he whispered, understanding that she wouldn't want the others to know how the events had affected her.

He faced his friends and said tersely “that was a very short peace.”


	7. Chapter 7

Heavy curtains brushed across his back as Aang left banquet room. The rear entrance of the pavilion opened at his touch and he stepped through. Was he doing the right thing? Remorse and trepidation momentarily swamped him. But, no, this was the right move. He had to find out what could be salvaged of his people. And his friends really did have family who'd missed them and they deserved to be together. Perhaps his initial motivation was only to avoid Katara until it didn't hurt so much to be near her, but he thought ultimately it would be good for the others to have more time to just be kids. He couldn't be a kid any more. Not as the Avatar and not as the last airbender.

Aang hesitated for another instant, his conscience tugging him toward Katara. He told her they'd talk after the coronation. But he forced himself to keep moving away from the pavilion to the palace. She would understand when she read his letter. Maybe she would be angry at first, but eventually she'd accept that he had left in this way so their friendship would survive the destruction of his romantic hopes.

When he reached the palace he stopped the first servant he saw, a round and smiling woman about the same age as Zuko's uncle. “Do you know who Master Katara is?” At the woman's nod, Aang continued “Will you give her this message tomorrow morning?” he asked, handing over a sealed letter he had agonized over for hours.

The woman took the letter with a puzzled expression. Before she could comment or ask any questions Aang hurried away, calling “thank you” over his shoulder. He had to pick up Momo from Sokka's room and get to Appa before any of his friends caught up to him.

IBetween his soft boiled wool shoes and the subtle bending that sped his progress, his quick steps were all but silent even on the hard stone floors between the thick rugs. Thus no one noticed or checked his progress and he soon reached Sokka's room. Momo leaped on him as soon as he cracked the door open, chittering excitedly.

“Hey buddy” Aang crooned to the little lemur, stroking the soft fur between Momo's ears. “Ready for another adventure?” 

The lemur's tail delicately traced a tickling trail over Aang's ear. Aang laughed aloud when Momo scampered over the top of his head to reach his opposite shoulder. The two set off toward Appa.

Momo hopped off Aang's shoulder as soon as he saw the air bison. He landed between Appa's ears and the two animals enjoyed a rumbling, squeaking reunion. Aang examined the two hawks on either side of a wooden perch, identical but for a slight difference in size. They were beautiful birds with pale cream feathers covering their chests that deepened to rust on their wings and backs. Their eyes were bright orange and alert. He wondered if they had names, then noticed bands around their legs, each inscribed with a name. The slightly larger bird was Sabi and the smaller Jinsoku. He smiled as he decided Jinsoku would come with him on the first leg of his journey. Aang had never had a bird as a companion before and wasn't sure how to get the bird to come with him. 

He tried holding out his arm and calling “Jinsoku.” The bird hopped over to him and Aang winced as its talons dug in. Well, that was one good thing about all the excess fabric in his clothes; it provided a bit of protection. He'd try to fashion a gauntlet of thicker material at his first stopping point on the way to the Eastern Air Temple.

Aang retrieved Appa's saddle and settled it onto the bison's back. Once it was secure, he pushed air toward the ground lightly, propelling himself to a seat next to Momo. This time he remembered to wind the leads around Appa's horns before calling “Yip ,yip!” As they flew away from the Fire Nation capital Jinsoku left Aang's arm to glide alongside Appa.

The quartet flew toward the Eastern Air Temple steadily, stopping once a day to gather food and eat, then again at night to gather more food and sleep. Aang found himself wishing he had prepared better for this journey. Late summer's abundance meant they never went hungry, but he longed for something more filling than fresh fruits and vegetables. He dreamed of noodles and rice. 

And when he didn't dream of food, he dreamed of Katara. The first night of the journey he'd held her hand and gazed lovingly into her bright eyes. When he called her his forever girl she blushed and leaned in to kiss his cheek. Aang awoke with a happy smile that slowly slid off his face when he realized he had been asleep and only dreamt Katara's presence. Most of the dreams since had been worse, featuring derision and anger from Katara. 

Even more troubling than the nighttime imaginings was the loneliness of his waking hours. He loved Appa and Momo. He was even coming to appreciate fierce Jinsoku. But he missed his friends. He wanted to hear Toph complaining about flying and Sokka harping on schedules. And, more than anything, he longed to talk to Katara. Her sweet voice always soothed him. She understood him completely, supported him more fully than anyone but Gyatso ever had. Thinking about what Katara meant to him reinforced his decision to leave. He needed her friendship even if he couldn't have her love. And leaving seemed to him the only way to allow his emotions time to settle and to force his mind to regard her with friendship alone.

He tried hard to redirect his thoughts of Katara to a less romantic vein. But the bad dreams, loneliness, hunger, and the strain of flying nearly non-stop left him uncharacteristically ill-tempered and unable to direct his thoughts. So when he tried to concentrate on all the things he valued about his relationship with Katara he instead thought only of his sorrow at never being able to kiss her again. The fourth time he found himself crying he decided it might be better to put her out of his mind entirely, as much as he could. 

Instead he thought about what he could do to preserve his culture. While he hoped Guru Pathik would have some ideas to help him in his goal, there were things Aang could figure out on his own. He would restore the temples, for certain. Earthbending could repair the damage done to stone broken by intense heat. Air and water could scour the surfaces and remove the grime and plant incursions allowed by a century of neglect. Aang would carefully gather what earthly remains he could find, speak the appropriate words over them, and cremate all the bones together, attackers and victims alike. Perhaps he could write to Zuko and find out what ritual was appropriate for people of the Fire Nation. He could speak words from both traditions. Once he arrived at the temple he planned to remain there for long enough that he could send Jinsoku with a message and await her return.

All of the temples had nearby seasonal villages of Air Nomads who didn't desire the asceticism of temple life, or who weren't airbenders. Between their travels, the people of these villages grew much of the food that fed the temple residents and herded the animals that provided milk and wool. Some of the most gifted Air Nomad artisans were nonbenders who lived in the villages. Perhaps in these settlements he could find clues, hints of where to look for those Air Nomads who may have blended into other nations. Maybe people had even left secret messages for other Air Nomads to find. Aang knew how unlikely it was that anything like that would have survived the time since the genocide, but he also knew he could leave no possibility unexplored. The fate of the world depended upon him doing everything in his power to bring back airbending and he thought bringing back the Air Nomads the best way to restore airbending.

As he had on the night he'd wept at the Fire Nation capital's harbor, Aang felt renewed determination and a fluttering of hope when he contemplated the way forward. He would start restoring the temple after he spoke to the guru. If Guru Pathik had no different suggestion for him, he could proceed to the Southern Air Temple once he felt satisfied with the restoration of the Eastern Air Temple. 

This fresh resolve carried him through the rest of his journey. He reached the temple just as the sun sank behind the mountains. Wearily, he removed Appa's leads and saddle and sank to the ground, ready to sleep on the saddle without unpacking his bedroll or eating anything.

“Well, Aang, I was not expecting to see you again so soon” came the guru's distinctively musical accent.

Aang bowed low. “Guru Pathik. I hope I haven't come at a bad time. I-”

He broke off when the old man chided “What have you done to your air chakra? It is entirely blocked now. Come, we must meditate and open your chakras again.”

Aang remembered vaguely that the air chakra was blocked by grief. It was, thus, no surprise that his was now blocked. He sighed deeply, “Could we do that tomorrow? I don't have any pressing need for open chakras and I would really like some sleep.”

Pathik chuckled “Very well, Avatar Aang. Sleep. We will work on your chakras and you can tell me why you've come in the morning.” Aang was vaguely aware of the man moving around him, singing softly, as he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. 

Aang opened his eyes to early morning sun bathing the temple in gold. He winced to see the blackened stones and crumbling spires. He rose from Appa's saddle and stretched, then went looking for Pathik.

He found the man one courtyard over, going through a series of yoga postures. Recognizing the sequence, Aang joined him, relishing in the release of muscles cramped by so much time spent sitting atop Appa. The flow of the familiar movements quieted his mind, too. When they finished Aang felt calm and centered.

“Guru Pathik,” he began “I don't want to release this grief just yet. I think I need to live with it for a while or it's going to keep coming back stronger. I want to talk to you about something else.”

“Very well, Aang. I think it would be better to clear your chakra, but...your spirit, your choice. Come, let us find some breakfast.”

Aang's stomach growled in agreement and both people laughed. Momo, who had watched suspiciously from the saddle as the two people did movement things the lemur found inscrutable, raced to Aang's feet. The he quickly climbed the airbender, squeaking excitedly.

Aang considered his last visit to the guru. “Banana-onion juice?” he asked.

“Alas, no. A big storm took out all the ripe bananas last week.”

“What a shame” Aang murmured, suppressing a smile.

Pathik led Aang to a kitchen in the residential part of the temple complex. It was spare and spotlessly clean. Shelves along one wall held a few food staples including, Aang was happy to note, bags of rice. Pathik rinsed some rice while Aang wandered around looking at the apartment, somehow both pleased and distressed to see the place lived in. 

The apartment consisted of three small rooms with windows covered by carved wooden shutters. The largest room contained a table, a bent cane chair, and a simple bed with a chest against the foot. Under the window facing the bed stood a altar set with a candle, a bowl of water, and a few pieces of fruit. He wondered about the apartment's previous inhabitant. Had it been occupied when the temple came under attack? He had tried not to imagine how that awful day transpired, had avoided contemplating the specifics. But he suddenly felt he had to know, had to somehow fathom all its particulars.

Aang stood in front of the shrine when the guru came looking for him. Pathik noted the tears streaming down Aang's face and the tight grimace containing his sobs. He placed a gnarled hand on the boy's shoulder. 

“Sit down, Aang. Ask me anything you wish to know” the man instructed gently.

Slowly, Aang turned and lowered himself to the floor. The older man sat facing him.

The Avatar took a deep, shuddering breath. “Was this her altar? The Air Nomad who lived here?” he asked after taking a moment to steady his voice.

Pathik nodded sadly. “I found this apartment nearly untouched when I arrived at the temple. I cleaned it out and began living here. I have kept her shrine as I found it, only replacing the candle, fruit, and water as needed.” 

He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts or perhaps sorting through his memory. “You may wonder why I live here. It is because, many years ago, I had a vision. Master Gyatso came to me and said that you had survived and would need my wisdom. Was it truly he who communicated with me? I do not know. Such things are beyond my understanding. But I heeded the advice and eventually you came.”

Another pause followed, longer this time. “There were papers: letters, a journal. Her name was Jinpa. She liked sweets and drew beautiful pictures of the plants and animals she saw.”

Guru Pathik rose and crossed to the large wooden chest. He opened the lid and withdrew a small bound volume with stiffened cloth covers. He handed it to Aang, who inspected it carefully before opening the book. It was exquisitely made, with thick paper pages carefully sewn into the tight binding. Inside the cover an inscription in an elegant hand read 'Flora and Fauna of the Eastern Air Temple and Environs, observations made by Jinpa, master airbender, Eastern Air Temple.' The illustrations inside were as beautiful as Pathik had said and Aang hungrily devoured the first communiqué from an Air Nomad that he'd seen since he went into the sea.

Pathik left the boy reading Jinpa's book and walked toward the kitchen to finish preparing food. When he returned with two steaming bowls of rice topped with dried seaweed flakes he found Aang still engrossed in the book. 

“Come, Aang. Eat” he told the boy as he set the bowls on the low table. He sat in front of one bowl and gestured toward the other.

Aang carefully placed the volume on top of the chest and sat at the table across from Pathik. With his first bite of the simple dish, his hunger, which grief and then fascination had subsumed, came roaring back. He ate so quickly that the guru stared at him in wonder.

Swallowing a last morsel, Aang blushed and apologized for eating so quickly.

Pathik smiled. “No apologies necessary. You are a growing boy. Though it has been many years since I was around one of you, I do remember how they eat. There is more of everything if you would like.”

Aang happily served himself more. He consumed the second bowl a little more slowly but with no less appreciation. “Thank you very much for the food, Guru Pathik.” 

Then Jinpa's book drew him back. Even before Pathik had finished eating Aang was once again perusing it. He looked up when Pathik approached. Aang's face glowed with excitement when he blurted out “I want to see if I can find other writings by Air Nomads. Maybe I could build cultural centers in every nation with Air Nomad texts and artifacts. Wait, I'm saying this out of order.”

Aang put the book down again reluctantly and walked to the window. He was afraid he'd cry again if he had to see the guru's sympathy while he talked.

“The world is not the same without the Air Nomads. You and I are some of the only people in the world who remember what a vital role my people played, how Air Nomads held festivals that people from the other nations traveled across the world to experience. How we served as mediators and peacemakers for people wherever we journeyed. We wrote songs and poems and plays that entertained and inspired everyone who heard them. All that is gone. But does it have to be?” 

He spoke passionately of his quest to find anything that remained of his people, to preserve and nurture it. Turning to once more face Pathik, Aang continued “I should scour the temple, see if I can find more books like Jinpa's!”

“Why scour?” Guru Pathik seemed genuinely puzzled. “The library escaped the attack unscathed.”

Aang's answering smile could only be described as blinding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found out that Jinpa is an actual character from the Kyoshi novel about two weeks after I wrote this chapter. Any similarities between the two are purely coincidental.


	8. Chapter 8

The Avatar departed so quickly that the breeze from his passing blew Kaori's thick bangs out of her face and set her tunic fluttering around her hips. She stared down at the sealed letter in her hand as the disarming smile she'd perfected vanished abruptly. Worried that someone had seen her drop the happy harmless facade, she glanced around. There was no one nearby. 

She turned the letter over and over as she tried to decide what to do. Keeping her eyes trained to her surroundings, she broke the seal on the letter. Unfolding the ecru paper, Kaori let her eyes drop to the page. Damn, she thought, I should have known the Avatar would use the common language. While she spoke it fluently, she could not read a word of it. Muttering curses, she slid the page into the side pocket of her top and walked purposefully toward the hall holding the suites of the royal family.

She watched carefully for other servants as she made her way to the disused Fire Lady's rooms. They had lain empty for many years; even the cleaning staff left those rooms alone. The door creaked loudly and resisted her when she pushed it open. Luxurious carpets muffled her footfalls as she entered the room and closed the door as noiselessly as she could manage. A blanket of dust covered most of the surfaces in the room. Kaori pulled back the floor length drapes on the south-facing windows, then lit the wick on a hurricane lantern using firebending that the other palace staff would have been quite shocked to learn she possessed.

A room in the palace with open curtains lit by a lantern would not seem strange to any casual observer. But the right set of eyes would recognize the signal and would find a way to meet with her. She wondered, not for the first time, if there were other people in the palace who sent other kinds of messages to those waiting eyes. With a shiver, she wondered if she was the object of clandestine observations, too.

A full length mirror caught her eye when she turned away from the lantern. She stopped and examined herself critically for a moment. Her uniform fit flawlessly, revealing a plump, unprepossessing figure. Her amber eyes were her best feature, thick lashed and wide-set. She had never entertained any hope of beauty, but someone had once loved her round face and body as well as her pretty eyes. She closed those eyes in pain. She would never forget and never forgive.

Shaking off her grief and her nerves, Kaori returned to the basement laundry facilities and her official duties. She didn't really mind the job. Scrubbing, wringing, and ironing were all simple, repetitive tasks that left her mind free. But all of the important people staying at the palace had generated an astounding amount of linens that needed washing, and the work had overwhelmed her and the other laundry attendants. On her way into the laundry Kaori eyed the enormous mounds of bedding and towels from the guest rooms. Soiled linens covered the six tables she and the other workers used to sort and fold laundry.

Lin, an elfin country girl whose dreams of life in the big city hadn't panned out the way she'd hoped, greeted Kaori with a nod and a rueful shrug. “The laundry just keeps coming! Did you find the rooms that needed the last batch of towels?” Lin asked as she ran an iron over table linens with deft efficiency.

Kaori carefully put on a blandly friendly, slightly dim expression, which she thought of as her “loyal palace servant face.” She nodded and smiled, then nodded again to reinforce the impression of dimness. Then she turned to her next task, folding towels into careful stacks to deliver to the south wing. She balanced a tall column of them in her arms and started to leave.

Lin interrupted her progress. “Why don't you take one of the carts this time? The south wing needs a lot more towels than you carried before.”

Kaori worried that her pretended dimness was influencing her actual thinking. No, she told herself, it's just the distraction of the Avatar's letter. She wished she could read it. With the pretender crowned and insisting on communicating in the common tongue, she realized that, unless Zuko were removed soon, she'd have to learn to read it. And for that indignity, she hoped he'd be put to a slow, torturous death after he was deposed. 

Resolutely forcing away the sour expression brought on by thoughts of the usurper, covering it with a sunny smile, Kaori plopped her stack of towels on a rolling cart and began pushing it up the steep ramp, leaving the basement and Lin behind.

Just as she reached the main floor, she felt a someone link an arm through hers and guide her into a deserted side corridor. Her contact wore a long dark cloak whose hood completely hid their features. Kaori squinted, trying to discern anything about them. Before she could get a good look at the person, though, she found herself embraced by wiry arms and unable to see anything but the fabric covering a shoulder. It was very disconcerting to realize this complete stranger knew who she was and where her true loyalty lay.

“Shh” the mysterious figure cautioned in low tones, “a tryst is good cover. Put your hand on my shoulder.”

After Kaori complied, the person leaned into her. Though they were now face-to-face, Kaori could only make out the gleam of eyes under the hood.

“What do you have for us?” they asked.

Kaori began to whisper back, “The Avatar-” but a gloved finger over her mouth stopped her.

“A whisper carries better than a speaking voice. Don't whisper unless you wish to attract attention.” her contact told her firmly.

Kaori felt irritation rise in her. She had been a member of the Society for years. Just because she was new to the palace did not mean she was new to espionage. She took a few deep breaths, trying to quash her annoyance.

When she calmed down she continued in a more normal tone “The Avatar was heading somewhere in an awful hurry. He saw me in the hallway and gave me a letter to deliver to that Water Tribe girl. I thought it could be important.”

The shadowy figure tilted their head. “What does the letter say? Do you have it?”

Kaori reached into her tunic pocket and withdrew the paper with its broken beeswax seal. “I don't read common, so I couldn't tell you what it says” she explained as she handed it over.

After a quick scan of the hallway, the other person drew away from Kaori. Once they stood directly under a window letting in wan afternoon light, they unfolded the letter. After a few moments, the person chuckled wryly and kindled a flame in their palm that soon caught the edge of the missive.

“Wait!” Kaori gasped. “I'm supposed to deliver that tomorrow.”

“The Avatar is leaving. No one will even know he left a melodramatic good-bye to the girl he is infatuated with.” The person laughed again, “Though apparently even a Water Tribe peasant wouldn't stoop to loving that relic of a failed culture. She prefers Zuko. Not that he's much better.” 

As the words were spoken, flames consumed the Avatar's letter and spent themselves in the other firebender's hand. The cloaked figure shook the ashes to the floor.

Kaori protested “But what if the Avatar returns and realizes I didn't deliver it? I only took this job two days ago. If suspicion falls on me this soon, I won't be of any use to the Society.”

“With any luck, what's happening right now at the celebration” the speaker spit out the word in disgust, then continued “will eliminate the need for us to have spies in the palace.” So saying, the figure slid around a corner and disappeared.

Kaori glared sullenly at the letter's ashes on the polished floor. Using the tip of her toes, she ground and scattered the residue.


	9. Chapter 9

Weariness dragged Katara's shoulders down as she trudged into her room and crumpled to the bed. Not many people had been injured in the attempt on Zuko's life, but she had healed every blister, intent that no one would carry scars from a day that should have been the beginning of the first peace in a century. Then she had helped Zuko and Admiral Liang question everyone at the celebration about the would-be assassins. And for what? No one would admit to seeing them before they attacked the new Fire Lord. No one would admit to recognizing any of the assailants. And the person best equipped to bring peace and order had abandoned them.

Aang. Why had he left them? Why had he left her? She had felt so certain of his affections, so secure in his love. For months his every action made it clear he loved her. Or so she had thought. Did their dreadful confrontation on the balcony at the Ember Island Playhouse make him believe she did not and could never return his love? She thought she had been clear. It hadn't been the right time to think of romance, with the fate of the entire world to occupy them. She had not said she couldn't love him, only that she was confused and that it wasn't the right time. But their relationship since that conversation lacked the ease of the time before. Perhaps his interpretation of what she said was that she would never be interested in a romantic relationship with him.

And here she was, once again allowing romantic thoughts to supersede more pressing issues. Someone was trying to undo the good Aang and their friends had accomplished by killing one of the people who embodied their victory. It was not the time to be distracted by love. Especially when the object of her love had fled into the night, headed who knows where.

Katara resolutely pushed all of her tangled thoughts out of her head. She had not spent every day for nearly a year beside Aang without picking up some of his meditation methods. She concentrated on her breath and gradually her mental distress eased and she was able to relax enough to sleep.

She awoke uncomfortable and sweaty in the clothes she had neglected to change before sleeping. The sun shone brightly through the window and Katara started, wondering how late it was and what was happening with the investigation into the assassination attempt. She rose and readied herself for the day.

Hours later the remaining members of Team Avatar met in the same room where the peace treaty had been negotiated. Like most of the rooms in the Fire Nation palace, this one was swathed in red and gold wallpaper and accented with dark wood. Being surrounded by Fire Nation colors and symbols was beginning to wear on her. She counted Zuko a good friend now and had learned that there were many kind people in the Fire Nation, but her first response to symbols of fire was always a racing heart and a swell of nausea. She had hoped to leave the Fire Nation capital soon after the coronation. Of course, she had hoped to depart with Aang by her side, ready for their next adventure. And now her plans lay in shambles, Aang gone and Zuko under attack. 

Katara examined all her friends' faces as she entered the room and sat at the table that had seen such progress only the previous day. Mai and Zuko sat side by side, with dark circles around their eyes and hands clasped together. Toph stood nearby, one hand pressed to the stone fireplace, an expression of deep concentration on her face. Suki sat with her elbows on the table and Sokka stood behind her, rubbing her neck.

Between them, they had interviewed every senior member of the palace staff. They had lists of everyone who had been inside the palace or its grounds the previous day and were working through questioning all of them. But so far their questions had netted no new information about the assassination plot. It was as though the attackers had sprung full-formed from a nightmare. No one recognized them. Though they had a few names of people who had expressed doubts about Zuko taking the throne, the political prominence of some of the names necessitated a deft hand in their questioning. Admiral Liang had volunteered to conduct discreet inquiries into those people and how deep their resentments might run.

Facing her friends, Katara finally voiced the issue that bothered her most. “The navy healers who examined the bodies found shards of glass in the men's mouths. They're saying the men held vials of a poison between their teeth until-” 

Here her voice faltered as she relived the horror of watching the men take their own lives. Closing her eyes and gathering her composure, she continued “until they decided to use it. None of these very experienced and knowledgable healers had ever heard of any poison that works so quickly.”

Katara looked at the faces turned toward her, waiting to see who else now recognized the most worrisome facet of this plot.

Not surprisingly, her brilliant brother caught on first. “Isn't it surprising that people involved in a hastily-constructed plot would happen to know about and have on hand such a little-known and deadly substance along with five firebenders willing to die if they didn't succeed?” he asked.

“But how could it be anything but hastily constructed?” Zuko asked, perfectly imitating Sokka's intonation on the last words to Sokka's visible irritation. “No one knew I would be Fire Lord before the agni kai with Azula four days ago.”

Silence greeted his question. 

“Unless” Suki ventured “it wasn't aimed at Zuko in particular, but at the office of Fire Lord or the Fire Nation itself.”

“They were firebenders, though.” Mai rebutted, “They had to have been Fire Nation themselves.”

Then everyone started talking at once, offering theories and passionate arguments and useless speculation. Katara could only make out every third or fourth word amidst the hubbub until Toph stomped her foot and caused the floor to shiver underfoot.

“Shhh” the earthbender hissed, “someone's coming.”

In a moment the teens shifted from noisy discord to a deadly silence, weapons gripped. Katara removed the stopper on her water skin and she saw Zuko raise his hands to kindle a small flame. 

A sharp knock sounded. When Zuko called “Come in!” two older women hesitantly entered the room. They wore identical pink and red dresses and their long white hair was gathered into the same crescent-shaped buns. 

“Lo? Li? What are you doing here?” Zuko demanded as he rose and moved toward the women.

In eerie unison the women replied “Your sister banished us before your agni kai. We have come back so we can continue serving the Fire Nation.”  
One of the women spoke alone “We can offer you bending instruction as we did for your father and for Princess Azula.”

Zuko grimaced and took a few steps back from the women. He started to shake his head but stilled when Mai also rose and placed her hand on his chest. 

“Fire Lord Zuko accepts your kind offer, Auntie Li and Auntie Lo.” she spoke before Zuko could gainsay her.

Li and Lo bowed politely and, in unison once again, intoned “We will return to our former residence in the palace, then. We expect to see you for firebending practice tomorrow at sunrise, Fire Lord Zuko.” So saying, they turned and left the room.

Mystified, Katara looked toward Sokka. He shrugged, equally confused.

Toph remarked “There was something weird about those two.”

“That is an understatement” Zuko agreed. 

“Are they on the list of people in the palace yesterday?” Sokka asked.

“What?” Zuko sounded incredulous. “They are not under suspicion in this.”

“Why not?” Toph demanded. “Knife-girl there just insisted that the attackers were Fire Nation. Don't you think the people who planned the attack are too?”

Zuko sighed as he closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. “I guess they must be. But not Li and Lo! They're Fire Twins!” He looked at Mai for reassurance and she nodded in agreement.

Katara felt her brow wrinkling, but Sokka beat her to the question.

“What are Fire Twins?” he asked.

Mai and Zuko both looked surprised. She spoke before he could. “Don't your people have Water Twins?”

“What? No. I don't think so. What are those?” Katara demanded. 

“You really don't have Water Twins? Huh.” Zuko mused. He looked toward Toph and asked “But there are Earth Twins, right?”

“No idea what you're talking about, Sparky.” Toph replied.

“Okay. Huh. This is surprising. So, Fire Twins share a special connection to fire. They can't bend it, but they're immune to its effects. They have a mystical, instinctive understanding of bending and are great teachers for strong benders because they can't be hurt even if the student loses control of their fire. There used to be a lot of Fire Twins, enough that most of the noble families hired them to teach their bender children. But Lo and Li are the only ones discovered in the last century.” 

“So, this Li and Lo taught Ozai and Azula? And you think they're trustworthy?” Suki wondered, shaking her head.

“They're Fire Twins!” Zuko defended. 

Mai nodded her agreement and added “Maybe you have to be Fire Nation to understand.”

Katara huffed, never liking the implication that she lacked understanding. Sokka caught her eye and raised one eyebrow, a silent agreement. She smirked back at him and wiggled both her eyebrows in opposition. Sokka stifled a laugh.

Toph's next words brought an end to their moment of humor. “Okay, so the Weird Sisters are out as suspects. We're talking in circles here; we should probably go back to questioning the people who were in the palace yesterday. Any of you can call me in if someone seems shifty and I can tell you if they're lying.”

Though there were answering groans, they all agreed and divided up to return to the task.

***

A week's efforts gained no additional information. No one had seen anything unusual. No one had been able to identify the attackers. An artist who enjoyed the patronage of the royal family made detailed sketches of the dead assailants. These had been reproduced on flyers that would be sent throughout the nation offering a reward for any information about the men.

Katara slumped at the table with the others in the room adjacent to Zuko's bedroom, beginning to hate the site of so many fruitless meetings. Nobody really had anything to say. All of their interviews were done and there wasn't so much as a single loose thread to pull to unravel the mystery.

She cleared her throat and ventured “So what happens now? Where do we look next? Who do we talk to?”

Zuko sighed disconsolately. “We leave this in Admiral Liang's hands. There's no one left to talk to. The healers still haven't identified the poison, so there's no following that lead. I think-” Zuko broke off as a sharp rap on the door interrupted him.

With no pause for a response, Hakoda entered the room wearing a tight expression.

“Fire Lord” he greeted Zuko shortly.

Zuko stood at the older man's greeting and bowed slightly, pressing his right fist against his left palm “Chief Hakoda, it is a pleasure to see you again.”

Hakoda smiled briefly, a twitch of his lips that failed to convey even a hint of warmth. “I have started to receive reports about the waterbenders who were imprisoned.” He looked to Katara and she saw immense compassion in his eyes. “I'm sorry, Katara. The one you asked about, Hama? She was executed the week after her capture. There are no reports yet of any who escaped or survived.” 

Katara's breath froze in her throat. Many late-night conversations with Suki about Boiling Rock had slowly reshaped her antipathy toward Hama to a worried sympathy. Katara had only briefly been incarcerated and by her own choice, but the experience and her conversations with Suki had shown her that, ultimately, imprisonment stripped away the humanity of the imprisoned. Was it really surprising that Hama had not behaved with much humanity? If she herself had suffered for the amount of time Hama had, she did not know what she might have become. She blinked rapidly as she felt her eyes burn.

Her father continued, addressing Zuko again. “I have spoken to all the Water Tribesmen in the city on your behalf. While there are many who hold the Fire Nation and you in low esteem, no one can tell me anything about the attack. It's too bad the Avatar abandoned his duty and his friends. He might have been of some help here.” Katara had never heard such rancor from her father. 

“Dad! Aang didn't-” Katara protested.

“Then where is he? He left, with barely a sentence spoken to each of you. Are you also going to claim that he didn't wound you and Sokka, Katara? And your other friends?” her father asked.

Katara cast her eyes down. She didn't want her dad to be mad at Aang, but she certainly couldn't deny that the airbender had hurt her and all of their friends. She said nothing.

Hakoda added “Fire Lord Zuko, I understand the situation has changed here. Do you still want me to take the treaty to Chief Arnook?”

Zuko appeared confused for a moment, then his features firmed in decision. “Yes, if you are still willing. It feels even more important now to establish peaceful international relations. I have been a bit” he paused with a rueful smile “distracted lately. However, I will speak to Admiral Liang to make sure the airship is prepared for you as soon as you wish to depart.”

“In that case, I think I should leave as soon as possible. Perhaps tomorrow morning? Bato is fine overseeing the rest of the boat construction.” Hakoda looked directly at Katara, then at Sokka. “Katara? Sokka? Will you come with me? Since you've been to the North before, you could let me know about cultural differences on the way and introduce me when we arrive.”

Sokka blanched and shook his head, “I can't go back there. It's too-” he trailed off, looked toward Katara and shook his head helplessly.

Katara felt an aching understanding fill her. Of course her brother would not wish to return to the place where he'd held Yue as she died. She didn't know if their father knew what had happened. She would not tell that story if he did not, though. Only Sokka could relate those events, when and if he felt ready.

She appealed to Zuko “I shouldn't leave with this assassination attempt still such a mystery. What if there are more attacks?”

“Do you think me unable to defend myself?” Zuko queried in an affronted tone. 

Mai snickered “or me? I seem to recall holding my own against you even when you had the Avatar fighting at your side.” 

Katara felt a hot rush of embarrassment. “No, I know you can defend yourselves. I only want to help!”

Zuko smiled warmly. It was amazing how sweet a smile he had when he chose to use it. “You will be helping. Your dad is right; having someone along who is known by the Northern Water Tribe could ease things. And think of what Aang said about spending time with your family. Haven't you missed your father? Wouldn't it be good to be with him?”

Katara slid her eyes to her dad quickly. He caught her gaze and the love in his eyes loosened a tightness in her chest that she'd lived with for years. With the ache of missing her father easing, everything else felt suddenly overwhelming. Aang gone. The only other Southern Water Tribe bender she'd ever met executed in a Fire Nation prison. Unknown people trying to kill Zuko. A part of Sokka still damaged by Yue's death. The inside of her nose tingled and she fought to keep the tears welling in her eyes from spilling over. Pressing her lips together, she nodded quickly.

But her dad always recognized when her tears threatened. Hakoda crossed to Katara and gathered her into his arms. She let a few of the tears fall, pressing her face to his tunic so they would be absorbed. She recalled these arms holding her when she was five and lacerated her foot, big hand stroking her sweaty hair back from her face as her mother sewed the gash closed. In happier times, his arms swung her in dizzying circles while she giggled helplessly. She sniffled discreetly before tilting her head up to look into her father's concerned gaze.

“I'll come with you” she told him, voice decisive. “Zuko is right. I can be helpful on your journey.” She turned her face toward her brother “Are you sure you won't come with us, Sokka?”

Sokka shook his head, but his color had returned to normal. He smiled toward Suki and said “I would really like to spend some time with my girlfriend when we're not in the middle of a war.” Suki shifted in her seat at his words, and clasped her hands together tightly. Sokka looked anxiously toward Hakoda “You don't mind, do you, Dad?”

Hakoda told him “Well, I would love to spend more time with you. But I understand if you can't resist Suki's innumerable charms.” He winked at Suki with the statement and she blushed. He continued “I'm going to let Bato and the other men know that I'm leaving tomorrow, and then I'll pack some provisions for the journey.”

Squeezing Katara tight, Hakoda asked her “Do you want to come with me to see Bato and the others again before we leave?”

Katara smiled up at her dad and nodded. The two of them departed after everyone promised to see them off in the morning.

***

Katara fought hard not to collapse on her bed at the end of the day. She still needed to pack, but she felt such a cumulative fatigue from a week of fretting over Aang's departure compounded by worry about Zuko's situation that she wasn't sure how she'd manage. Instead, she relaxed into one of the cushiony tufted chairs placed by her room's single large window and allowed her eyes to close. Just for a moment, she thought. Just a moment to not feel pain and worry and sorrow.

She awoke with a start when someone cleared their throat. 

Lin, a former laundress who had very recently been promoted to something or other—Katara could not keep straight the bewildering array of titles and hierarchies within the royal household—stood just inside Katara's room, looking sheepish. Katara smiled sleepily. She and Lin had questioned the entire laundry staff together the day after Zuko's coronation. They had worked well with each other and she respected the woman's intelligence and ambition. And Katara would always have fellow feeling for girls who left their homes looking for opportunities to do and be more.

“I'm so sorry, my lady. I knocked and when there was no answer I came in to leave this on your bed.”

This was a hefty-looking scroll that Lin handed to her with a twinkling smile. “It's addressed to 'Master Katara' and I guess that's you.”

Katara stifled a yawn as she replied “I guess it is” and took the proffered scroll. “Thank you, Lin.”

Lin grinned her irrepressible grin and asked “who's it from?” excitedly.

“I don't know any more about it than you do!” Katara responded with a chuckle. “But let's open it and see.”

Katara carefully studied the scroll. The paper was thick and slightly rough. Her name was written in an elegant, flowing hand. It wasn't her grandmother's writing, but who else would write to her? Wax sealed both ends of the paper with an additional blob of it holding the roll closed. Katara impatiently pried the wax free from the paper. As she unrolled it, something small fell free and dropped to the floor where it rolled under the edge of her chair. Katara felt another small object sliding across the paper and quickly caught it. 

A pale blue bead landed in her palm. With furrowed brow, Katara held the bead up to the lantern. Smooth and oblong, it was slightly translucent with wavy striations of darker blue.

Lin stooped down to retrieve the fallen item, which turned out to be a bead matching the one in Katara's hand. “Oh they're so pretty! “ she remarked as she dropped the second bead into Katara's hand, where it clicked softly against the other one. “Chalcedony, I think. Who sent them?”

Katara finally looked away from the bead to the paper which lay in her lap, nearly forgotten. Her eyes sought out a signature without taking in any of the other writing that covered the page. Aang. It was from Aang.

Katara turned her stunned face to Lin's “It's from Aang. From the Avatar. Umm, Lin, I'd like to read this in private.”

“Of course” Lin responded quickly. She seemed about to say something further, but then shook her head slightly and turned to leave.

Katara stared blankly at the page for a moment as she listened to Lin's retreating footsteps. She closed her fingers and gripped the beads tightly in her hand as she read.

_Dear Katara,_

_I know I said this in my last letter, but I do hope you understand my reasons for leaving and can forgive me. You are the best friend I have ever had and I would never want to make you uncomfortable. Please say we are still friends._

_I didn't intend to write before I reached the Eastern Air Temple. But I visited this village to try to get more food and saw these two lonely beads for sale. The pale blue made me think of the deep ice near your home. And since there were only two, I kept thinking of the beads you wear in your hair. It seems like they were made for you! I walked past them to look for rice, but I kept coming back and thinking that they would look so pretty in your hair. As you can see, I chose the beads over the rice._

_I hope you will accept them as a token of our friendship, or at least not throw them out the window. If you don't like them, though, I understand._

_The person who runs the stationer's shop is looking at me strangely. I think my hat must have slipped and now she knows who, or should I say what, I am. I don't want to attract too much attention, so I will sign off and write a longer letter once I reach the Temple._

_Your friend,  
Aang_

_P.S. Zuko can tell you how to contact me if you want to write back! Although I guess you could simply send a message hawk to the Eastern Air Temple since I will be there soon._

She traced her fingertips wonderingly along Aang's name. She had never seen his writing before. It was beautiful, spare and flowing like its creator. Katara felt torn between joy and anger, one moment furious that he left her and the next her heart fluttering at the thought that he had written her twice in only a week. What had become of the first letter? It apparently offered more of an explanation for leaving than he had given at the peace treaty signing. Would knowing more about what prompted him to leave tip her feelings further toward anger or happiness? 

Wait. Why did Zuko know how to contact Aang?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is all I have written thus far. The next bit is giving me headaches, but I try to post a chapter every weekend. I hope you enjoy what I've done so far.


	10. Chapter 10

The windows showed Admiral Liang's office superimposed over the view of the busy street below. Zuko studied the reflected image, taking in the meticulously sorted piles of paper, which seemed even taller than on his last visit. Wave of guilt filled him at keeping the admiral from his regular duties with this attempted assassination business. Not that Zuko didn't take the attack seriously, or thought it should be considered a closed matter because the assailants were dead by their own hands. Or teeth, as it were. But what more could they do? They had exhausted every lead.

His mind was worn down by the constant disappointment. And it wasn't only mental fatigue weighing on him. Li and Lo insisted he practice firebending under their tutelage every morning and they were fierce taskmasters. His entire body ached from their lessons.

Admiral Liang looked nearly as tired as Zuko felt. His cropped brown hair stood on end where he'd run his fingers through it repeatedly while briefing Zuko on the additional security measures he had implemented at the palace. 

“Thank you, Admiral. I know this is beyond your usual duties and I appreciate you helping the regular palace staff improve our safety protocols.” Zuko told the other man.

Zuko's abandoned cup of tea sat cold and half-empty on the corner of the large desk. He picked it up and swirled the remaining liquid, eying it with distaste. Uncle Iroh should give the admiral some lessons in making tea. He grimaced as he imagined his uncle's reaction to the bitter brew in the cup he held.

“It is an honor to help you, Fire Lord Zuko.” Admiral Liang replied.

“Please, just call me Zuko.” Zuko hated his father's insistence on rigid formality and adherence to rank. He hoped that the people who helped him administer the nation would feel much more at ease with him. He wanted to work with people who respected him rather than feared him. In his mind, the more he could distance himself from his father, the better. He hadn't challenged anyone to an agni kai in almost two weeks, so he figured he had made a good start.

Admiral Liang smiled. “Then you must call me Shiro. Now, I know you did not come here to be inundated with information about these security measures. You said you had a new task for me?”

“Yes! I mean, the security details are interesting, too. But I came here to ask you to prepare an airship for Chief Hakoda to take to the Northern Water Tribe. He plans to leave tomorrow morning to bring the peace treaty to Chief Arnook and try to convince him to sign on.”

“I think there's time to arrange that” Shiro began, then paused and scribbled something on a stray bit of paper held down by his own cold cup of tea. “Yes, we should have enough supplies ready to hand for such a journey. The airship can be prepared by mid-morning, at the latest.” He stood as he concluded “Please excuse me, I'll need to begin the arrangements immediately.”

Zuko sat bemused as he watched the man's intense focus shift from security concerns to this new assignment. The way Shiro worked intrigued him. Every shift of priority or dawning understanding showed clearly on his face. It wasn't exactly what Zuko had expected from his de facto spymaster. 

Shiro halted on his way to exit the room. “Sorry. Sometimes I run with a new assignment before all the particulars have been presented. Was there something more?”

Zuko smiled and shook his head. “No, I believe that's all I need for now. Thank you, again, for reworking the guard rotations and schedules.”

Shiro simply nodded distractedly and left without another word. Zuko shook his head and laughed a little. Then he stood and left the office. Outside the door two Kyoshi Warriors fell into step beside him. Thus he found himself walking toward the palace flanked by two women whose names he couldn't recall. Their face paint rendered them nearly identical, but Zuko promised himself to work harder at memorizing their distinguishing characteristics. These women were an important part of the bulwark against further attempts on his life. Though they were being paid well for their services, Zuko wanted to acknowledge and appreciate them personally. Somehow Sokka could always recognize which woman was which. Zuko made a mental note to ask him how he did it. 

People on the street stopped and stared, then dropped into hasty bows as the Fire Lord and his guards strode past. The leader of the Fire Nation did not simply walk through its capital city! Zuko caught a few pleased smiles sprinkled among the looks of shocked disapproval. He deliberately returned those smiles, adding brief nods. Some of his people were ready for the changes he planned. He deliberately didn't think about the ones who looked angry. If seeing the Fire Lord walking rather than riding in a palanquin shocked them, he thought sardonically, they should brace themselves.

It was a surprise when Mai met them inside the palace gates, her face slightly twisted in annoyance. Zuko stared. Even at her most irritated he counted her the loveliest girl he'd ever seen, but he felt a frisson of unease at her countenance.

“Zuko, what have you done?” she hissed as she grabbed his arm, jerking him to a halt. She glared at his bodyguards “Leave us alone. I'm not going to kill him.” She cut her eyes to Zuko and muttered “Probably.”

At Zuko's nod, the two warriors moved away. They stopped a short distance away, just far enough that they wouldn't hear a normal conversation.

“Why is my father saying he has a meeting with you?” Mai demanded. “I told you to let me handle him.”

“I know. I know. But I think I have a way to win him over.”

Mai crossed her arms at her waist and quirked one eyebrow, wordlessly inviting Zuko to explain himself.

“Okay, hear me out. Your father dislikes me because I won't retake Omashu and make him Governor again, right?” Zuko waited for Mai's reluctant nod, then continued “It's the prestige and power of the situation he wants, though, not Omashu itself. So what if I offer him even more prestige and power in a different position?”

Zuko watched Mai's eyes narrow as she tried to work out what position he meant. Finally, she shrugged and freed one arm to gesture for him to continue. Then she tucked the hand back into the crook of her opposite elbow, the picture of depleted patience.

“I plan to ask him to be one of the two Fire Nation representatives to the Council of Nations.” Zuko stated, watching nervously for Mai's reaction.

She looked thoughtful, then smiled slightly. “That might work” she admitted in a soft voice. “But, don't you think his priorities for the nation are too different from yours?”

Zuko replied with a wry twist of his mouth “No doubt they are. But the other representative will be someone who shares my beliefs about how we should operate in the world.” At her questioning look, he clarified “Uncle Iroh. I hope, anyway. I haven't exactly asked him yet”

Mai's face relaxed by degrees as she considered this. She smirked “We might make a politician of you yet.”

Zuko shuddered theatrically.

“Well, my appointment with your father isn't for another hour. Any ideas on what we can do in the meantime?” he asked in a husky voice as he pulled Mai closer.

Mai slid her arms around Zuko's waist and looked into his eyes. Her lips curved slightly as she responded “I'm sure we can think of something to occupy us.”

***

Zuko made it to the meeting with Ukano a few minutes late. He and Mai walked arm in arm into the room to find her father pacing, booted heels making sharp percussive sounds against the polished stone floor. He glanced disdainfully at the couple when Zuko cleared his throat to announce their arrival. 

Ukano appeared to struggle to keep his expression neutral. “Fire Lord Zuko. What is it you wish to discuss with me?”

Zuko took a deep breath. His entire future could hinge on this meeting. Ukano had outsized influence on the other nobles of Caldera City. And his recent stint as a colonial governor, despite its brevity, had extended his reach. Winning him over unequivocally could make the work ahead of Zuko much easier. He hoped he hadn't miscalculated. He looked into Mai's eyes and saw her faith in him though her face once again masked her emotions with a bored neutrality. She gave the slightest nod and he felt his tensed shoulders relax.

Zuko motioned Ukano toward a grouping of chairs in the center of the large salon. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, sir” he began.

***

Two hours later Zuko drooped in relief as soon as the door swung closed behind Ukano. While he hadn't anticipated the man would accept his offer without some negotiation, Ukano's zeal for bargaining left Zuko completely sapped. But he had secured Ukano's agreement. Mai's father would serve as one of the Fire Nation's delegates to the newly formed council. Before Ukano left, taking Mai with him, he had signed a contract. Zuko sincerely hoped the appointment would offer an acceptable salve for the loss of Omashu. And he'd just seen a virtuoso demonstration of Ukano's political prowess. Perhaps the benefit in the arrangement would not all be to Ukano.

Zuko gazed out the window and watched the sun slide down toward the distant sea. Momentarily, he tried to distract himself from the items on his mental agenda that he hadn't done today. Instead he redirected his thoughts to the hour he'd spent with Mai before they met with her father. He breathed deeply and could still detect a trace of her perfume lingering on his clothing. It suited her, sharp herbal notes with a hint of smoke and spice.

Ruefully, Zuko surfaced from his reverie and set himself to the necessary work.

He had just signed a letter to his uncle updating him on events in the capital when Katara stalked into the room. She deliberately closed the door firmly behind her and directed a fierce glare at him.

Before he could so much as blink, she flung a water whip toward him. When the stream of water reached him, it divided and separate tendrils froze his arms and feet in place. Zuko shivered and couldn't tell if it was caused by the icy chill coating his extremities or by the ferocity of her expression. He recalled their battle at the North Pole. She had defeated him handily and he didn't fool himself that the tide of the battle would have turned even with sunrise if he hadn't caught her unaware. She was one of the most talented benders he'd ever encountered. But she was also supposed to be his friend!

“What the hell, Katara!” Zuko yelled.

Though he wouldn't have thought it possible, Katara's fury seemed to increase. “What does Aang mean, you know how to contact him?” she growled.

“Huh?” was all Zuko could manage at this bewildering question.

“Aang wrote me” she choked out. “He said that you know how to contact him. And I can't see how that would be the case unless you knew he was leaving and made arrangements to keep in touch. Why? Why did you let him leave? Did you encourage him to leave? He wouldn't just leave me!” Her last word was garbled as a sob escaped.

Zuko watched in horrified fascination as the tears spilled over and Katara angrily dashed them away. She took in a few gasping breaths before redirecting her ire at him. “Well?” she ended ominously.

Zuko groaned. Maybe Katara and Aang had not broken up before Aang left. Was that why Aang went squirrely when Zuko stated his fear of Katara killing him while he slept? Was leaving Aang's way of breaking it off with her? Once again Zuko had cause to regret becoming entangled in other people's lives.

Zuko looked pleadingly toward Katara. “Yes, I knew he planned to leave, but only for a few hours before he did. He said a whole lot of stuff about his duty and his destiny. And, umm, about me convincing the rest of you to let him go.” Zuko was beginning to feel unfairly judged and his voice rose “Katara, really, who am I to interfere when the freaking Avatar talks about duty and destiny? Was I supposed to stop him?”

“He asked you to convince me, I mean us, to let him go?” she asked in a small voice.

Some of Zuko's irritation with her drained away. “I'm sorry, Katara. He did.” 

He watched her face crumple. She flicked her hands to the side in tandem and the ice trapping him in place melted, leaving him soaked and surprisingly sympathetic. His compassion even extended to Aang despite the fact that the younger boy had put him in this situation. He was the one who bungled his break up even worse than Zuko had done when he left Mai. Zuko ardently wished Aang were the one sitting here watching Katara fight so hard not to cry.

“He said I could send a message to the Eastern Air Temple or ask you how to contact him. What did he mean?” she asked dully, wrapping her arms around herself.

Zuko explained about the paired messenger hawks. 

“So, did he send any response after you told him about the assassination attempt?” Katara asked once he'd finished the explanation.

Told him about the assassination attempt?

Zuko smacked his hand against his forehead and swore bitterly.


	11. Chapter 11

Aang insisted on seeing the library immediately. Every other question he had for the guru fled in his excitement over the survival of such an important cultural touchstone. The Eastern Air Temple was famed among Air Nomads for having the most extensive library of airbending texts in the world. Air Nomad lore held that some of the documents in the library even predated the founding of the temples.

Pathik led him out of the apartment then down and down spiraling stone staircases into what felt like the heart of the mountain and was indeed the heart of the temple. Momo soared ahead of the two humans, occasionally perching on the polished wooden handrail to wait for them to catch up. 

The stairways must have wound close to the side of the mountain because regularly spaced windows illuminated their path. Aang closed his eyes in anguish when he noticed the shattered glass and burn marks on some of the casements. He looked closer at his surroundings then and realized what he wasn't seeing.

“Guru Pathik” Aang asked hesitantly “where are the bodies? Of the people who were killed here?”

Pathik paused in his descent and aimed a surprised look at the airbender. “I have been here for many years, Aang. In the first months I gathered what remains I could find. By the time I arrived, only bones were left so I thought it would be appropriate to burn them and scatter the ashes. Not exactly the custom of your people, but I could not reach the sky burial platforms.”

Traditionally, stone platforms on the highest peaks around the temples received the bodies of Air Nomad dead. Once the elements and scavengers had picked the bones clean, a funeral pyre was built upon the platform. The wind then caught the ashes and carried them away. In death as in life, Air Nomads went where the wind carried them. Without airbending, Pathik had been unable to use the platforms but he had done his best. It was enough.

Aang bowed deeply in respect and gratitude. “Thank you, Guru Pathik, you did me and my people a great service.”

Momo broke the solemn mood by alighting on Aang's shoulder and offered a long, chattering lemur remonstration for their delay. Aang and Pathik smiled and continued their descent.

On the lowest level, the stairway led into a grand chamber. Skylights that opened into higher chambers of the temple illuminated the space through a clever arrangement of mirrors. Glass-enclosed lanterns lined the walls so there could be light after darkness fell. 

Towering shelves packed with scrolls and books stretched across the room in airily spaced rows. Motes of dust swirled lazily in the slanting light cast by the openings overhead. Aang examined the shelves nearest the entrance wonderingly while Pathik explained what he'd gleaned about the organization of the library. 

“The scrolls on that first shelf list all the volumes within the library” Pathik explained. “This central room has everything about the Air Nomads. There are more rooms about the other nations off to the side. At the very back is a room dedicated to the Avatar cycle.” 

Even if he lived as long as Kyoshi, Aang knew he wouldn't have time to read everything contained in the library. He suddenly wished Sokka were there with him. Aang resolved to get the other boy into the library as soon as he could manage.

Aang wandered down a long aisle, running his hands across book spines and scroll edges. A grubby scroll poking out further than its fellows caught his eye. Carefully he withdrew it from the shelf and began to unfold it. When he saw the images on the page, though, he flushed furiously and stuffed it back onto the shelf without taking the time to roll it back up. Pathik, who had trailed behind, laughed merrily when he caught a glimpse of the scroll. 

“You might wish to avoid this aisle for now, Aang” Pathik advised “everything down this row deals with” he paused and cleared his throat before finishing in a low tone “amorous pursuits.”

He laughed harder when Aang blanched, then abruptly turned back the way they'd come. Momo hopped onto the protruding edge of the offending scroll and dislodged it from the shelf. It spilled onto the floor, taking the offended lemur with it. Spitting complaints, Momo raced to Aang and snatched at his pants. Aang glanced down at Momo, then over his pet's head at the rapidly uncoiling manuscript. He groaned in dismay. Reluctantly he turned back to undo the mess his pet made. 

Pathik leaned against a shelf and watched with barely concealed mirth as the boy handled the paper like it might burn his fingers. But Aang had learned his lesson and made certain the scroll was securely furled and tucked neatly into place before rejoining Pathik.

With a flaming face Aang asked “Can you show me..” His voice squeaked and wavered before dropping back to his usual tone. He cleared his throat anxiously and continued “where to find anything about the Eastern Air Temple? If I'm going to restore this place, I should know everything I can about it first.”

x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Though he located and read many books and scrolls about the temple in the following weeks, the one by Jinpa proved the most useful in aiding Aang's efforts at restoration. None of the other volumes contained as many illustrations, nor any as skillfully executed.

Jinpa's book lay open to an exquisitely rendered watercolor depicting the Eastern Air Temple at sunset. Aang inspected it closely, comparing the painting to the repairs he'd made on the highest tower. He resolutely didn't examine the parts of the image that made his heart ache—the air bison filling the skies and the diminutive figures on gliders--the life and joy of the temple. Squinting against the bright afternoon sun, he looked from the page to the spire. He wiped the sweat from his eyes. Only sweat. That was all.

Appa picked up on Aang's melancholy. He rose from the spot where he'd been dozing in the sun and shuffled toward his companion. When he reached Aang's side Appa delicately pressed his head against his friend's chest, then licked his face. Aang gave the delighted laugh that always made Appa feel that his heart had grown too big for his body.

Smiling and pushing the air bison away gently, Aang handed the book to Pathik and asked “What do you think? Did I get it right?”

Pathik sat nearby on the sunny terrace surrounding the base of one of the smaller buildings attached to the tower that Aang had spent the past weeks repairing. He'd watched in fascination while Aang used earthbending to replace the last damaged pieces of the building. Aang was dwarfed by the giant blocks of stone he'd maneuvered into place with seeming ease. _Hearing about the power of the Avatar in tales and legends didn't quite prepare one for seeing that power in action_ Pathik mused to himself.

The three companions looked up toward the blue-tiled roof with its mellow golden trim. Pathik marveled at Aang's persistence in retrieving fallen tiles and carefully fitting them into gaps left in the original roof. Seeing the boy's small form gliding between the peaks as he searched out fallen debris had inspired Pathik to join his young friend's efforts. So he had walked along the flying bridges and swooping ramps of the temple these past few days with new eyes, collecting tiles and bits of broken stone to contribute to Aang's efforts. They had achieved amazing results, he acknowledged, looking from the painted image to the actual building.

Once again, it stood tall and gleaming white in the bright afternoon sunlight. The contrast between the restored tower and the surrounding dilapidated structures reinforced Pathik's awe at Aang's efforts.

“Yes, it looks just as it did when Master Jinpa painted it. Now, you must be tired after spending the entire morning lifting rocks. Come, let us have some lunch.” 

In the three weeks he'd spent at the Eastern Air Temple, Aang had settled into a routine. Every morning he worked at restoring this building, cleaning out debris and shoring up structures with earthbending, carefully replacing broken pieces when he could identify where they belonged. He harnessed the wind to sweep out the dust of a hundred years and bent water to scrub away ash and scorch marks left by the Fire Nation assault. Then, after a short break to share a midday meal with Pathik, he spent most of his afternoons exploring the library. 

Aang ruffled the fur under Appa's chin. “Ready to go back down, buddy?” 

Appa moaned agreement and Aang leapt onto the air bison's head, then leaned down and helped Pathik onto Appa's broad back. At first, Pathik had clearly found flying through the air on the bison unsettling, but he had become accustomed to the mode of travel over the past weeks. He smiled broadly when Appa rose into the air at Aang's “Yip, yip!”

Aang enjoyed the cool breeze and cleared his mind as Appa returned to the level of the temple where Pathik had made his home. He closed his eyes and imagined the air filled with other airbenders and bison. He sighed wistfully.

His focus shifted to the here and now when Appa landed. Pathik dismounted and opened the outer door to his apartment. The scent of a highly spiced vegetable stew drifted out and Aang's stomach responded to the delicious smell with a loud rumble. _I feel like Sokka_ Aang thought to himself and wondered if he had been a bit unfair in his assessment of Sokka's insatiable appetite. 

As though merely thinking the words 'insatiable appetite' had conjuring power, Momo scampered off the pallet where he'd lay curled dozing since he'd gorged himself on fruit at daybreak. Three days ago Pathik had insisted on creating the pallet for Aang to sleep on rather than allowing him to continue spending nights in the bison shelter with Appa. Though Aang rarely felt the cold, he knew Momo appreciated the warm bed as the outside temperatures trended cooler.

Guru Pathik chuckled and remarked “Well, it seems you are both ready for a meal. Let's wash up and then we will eat.”

Aang happily dished the fragrant stew into simple earthenware bowls that brought his childhood with the monks of the Southern Air Temple forcibly to mind. Air Nomad pottery was similar at all the temples, it seemed—elegantly shaped, light, and unadorned. The subtle differences were no doubt due to the type of clay available in each region. The bowls he now handled were a rusty beige color while those he'd grown up using were pale as the moon.

Aang brought the two bowls to Pathik's table. Momo gave an offended sniff at Aang's dish, but was appeased when Aang fetched him an entire banana. Another crop had come in after the storm-destroyed one Pathik mentioned on his first day at the temple. So far, the guru had not prepared additional onion banana juice and Aang did not mourn its lack.

Aang related a story he remembered Gyatso telling about how the banana tree came to bear fruit year-round as he polished off his lunch and served himself a second helping, glancing quickly at Pathik to gauge if he seemed intrigued by the tale. He'd been delighted to rediscover the old legend in the library the previous day and nearly as delighted when he found Pathik did not know it.

Guru Pathik chuckled when Aang concluded the tale. They ate the remainder of the food in a companionable silence broken only by their laughter when Momo scampered across the table to steal bits of food from both their bowls.

Aang cleaned the dishes after the meal and was ready to head to the library when a screeching message bird glided in through the open window. Aang felt a moment's confusion before he recognized Jinsoku's counterpart, Sabi, with a sealed bamboo cylinder secured to one of his legs. Jinsoku herself was delivering a message back to the Fire Nation. Aang thanked the bird and untied the message tube. Sabi flew back to the window to perch on its sill as soon as he was unencumbered. Curiously, Aang pried the top off the tube and tipped it until a single piece of paper slid free. 

He enjoyed a moment of anticipation before unrolling the page and quickly checking the signature. It was from Katara.

Aang's heart raced and blood rushed to his cheeks. He stared intently at her handwriting and found that merely seeing such a small reminder of Katara brought back his intense longing to hold her in his arms. Would he ever be able to think of her with simple friendship?

He darted a glance toward Pathik. Hesitantly, he said “Uh. I think I'll take this outside to read where the light is stronger.” 

The room had more than enough light to read by, but Aang wanted privacy while he read what Katara had written. Pathik nodded and waved him off wordlessly, but his eyes gleamed and he suppressed a smile at the boy's blush. Aang quickly exited Pathik's home and searched for a secluded place to sit. Tucking Katara's letter into his tunic, he unfolded his glider and launched himself toward a small terrace several stories up. 

Aang settled onto the rough stones and pressed his back against the temple's outer wall. He took out his letter and began to read.

_Dear Aang,_

_I can't believe you left without talking to me! I have only received one letter from you, so I don't know what last letter you're talking about. I doubt that there's anything you could explain on paper that would make me less irritated with you for leaving without me. I thought you were my best friend and you said goodbye to me in a speech given to an entire roomful of strangers!_

_You should know that everyone is mad at you for leaving that way. Everyone except Zuko, because he apparently knew you were leaving before the rest of us did. I had thought you and I were the closest of friends, and that if you chose only one person to share your plans with, it would be me. But no, it seems I have been supplanted by Zuko. And he believes you had good reasons. But I wait to hear those reasons from you._

_Thank you for the beads, though - they're lovely. I am wearing them in my hair as I write this. Suki said they look nice on me._

_But I won't be bribed with sweet gifts. I am still really angry at you._

_My father and I are heading to the Northern Water Tribe this morning to convince Arnook to sign onto the peace treaty._

_Don't bother writing back unless you have a very good explanation for leaving me._

_Your (angry) friend,  
Katara_

Shame swamped him. He could easily picture Katara's angry face when she wrote these words. Why hadn't he realized that leaving so abruptly would hurt her feelings? She did care about him, if not in the same way that he loved her. Aang traced her name lightly with his fingertips as he mentally girded himself to recreate the letter that had gone astray.

What had happened to his first missive? He had given it directly to a servant who promised to get it to Katara. Had she delivered it to the wrong room? Had it slid under a piece of furniture? Had someone intercepted it out of some weird desire to probe into the Avatar's personal life? He cringed at the thought that another person might have read the words he'd written only for Katara's eyes.

Aang rose slowly, feeling years older than when he'd left the ground. He opened his glider and leaped off the edge of the platform, determined to try again to set things right between him and Katara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time, no update. But here's some more of the story. I hope you enjoy.


	12. Chapter 12

Aang stood in front of Katara with his head tilted back, regarding her with that disarming look of open adoration. The way he looked at her always made her feel beautiful and interesting and brilliant. Aang reached toward her and she met his hand with her own, interlacing their fingers. Slowly his other hand brushed her face and she tilted her cheek against his warm palm. Katara lowered her lids at the feel of his long fingers caressing her. She tilted her head down and pressed her lips against his so softly. Aang sighed lightly and slid the hand from her cheek to the back of her head, pulling her tighter against him and tangling his hand into her hair.

Katara woke up with a gasp. She pressed her hands to burning cheeks, felt the heat of blood rushing to her face with her fingertips. One deep and slightly shaky breath later she sat up, unable to calm her racing heart or turn her thoughts to restful things. Resigned to beginning her day before the sun, she rose and crossed to the table that held a porcelain basin of water.

She took a moment to gaze in wonder at the large mirror mounted above the washstand. Her mother had once owned a small, handheld mirror. It had been broken on the day her mother died, crushed under Yon Ra's oblivious heel. For years after that, Katara had only caught distorted glimpses of herself in still water or in the edges of cooking knives. 

Encountering the floor-to-ceiling mirror at the house in Ba Sing Se had shocked Katara to her core. For all those mirrorless years, she carried the image of her mother in her heart and mind, thinking she shared the same face. Sokka looked so much like their mother she assumed that, as a girl, she must even look even more like their mother. But the mirror in Ba Sing Se had not shown her anything like Kya's sweetly rounded cheeks or elegant brows. Only the azure shade of her eyes, like the deepest ice in a glacier, matched her mental image of herself. She had collapsed to the floor in front of the glass and glared at her image, suffused with shocked disappointment. More of Kya had slipped away beyond her reach and Katara shook with the force of her disillusionment.

Katara sat in front of the mirror for a long time that day, feeling as though the earth itself trembled and swallowed up who she thought she was. After her shaking subsided, she continued to gaze at her reflection, taking in a long face with smooth brown skin and a pointed chin. She had known she didn't share her mother's black hair, but hadn't quite realized how much paler her brown locks were. Who did she look like? Her mother had been an unparalleled beauty, but was Katara even pretty? Her full mouth firmed as her good sense reasserted itself. 

Pretty was merely a crust of ice that could cover chilling water in the most brittle skin. Katara, master waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe and sifu to the Avatar, was more than pretty. The tilt of her jaw spoke of her determination and power. Her bright eyes reflected her intelligence. As these thoughts brought a slight curve to her lips she decided that her smile was sweet and communicated her compassion. She was a healer, a fierce defender, and a loving friend; how she looked was absolutely immaterial. With her small smile and her decisive nod it came to her in a flash of insight who she resembled. Gran Gran. She looked just like her grandmother must have looked as a young woman. 

Bringing her mind back to the present, Katara splashed her face, bending the water upwards in a smooth arc. Then she unplaited her sleep-loosened braid. Stifling a yawn, Katara brushed her hair. She eyed the beads Aang had sent her where they rested just under the lip of the basin. Her smile widened as she picked them up and threaded a lock of hair through each, snugging the beads up to her hairline. She quickly secured the ends of the loops in a small bun at the back of her head, leaving the rest of her hair falling smoothly over her shoulders.

After dressing in her blue warm-weather dress she sat down with the writing supplies she'd requested from Zuko last night. She had a few things she wanted to say to Aang. She tapped the end of her writing brush on her chin as she pondered how to begin.

_Dear Aang,_

_Thank you for the beautiful beads you sent me. I love them almost as much as I love you--_

Katara scowled and crumpled the paper into a ball.

_Dear Aang,_

_You left me? You left me! I can't believe I was trying to track you down and kiss you while you were making plans to leave--_

This letter attempt met the same fate as the first. And so did the next two messages. Before she could make a fourth attempt her door flew open and Sokka tumbled into her room, crutch slipping for a moment on the slick floor of the corridor outside her door.

Suki followed him in at a more sedate pace. “Sokka!” she giggled, “you have to knock first! What if Katara were getting dressed?” She looked toward Katara apologetically and added “I feel absolutely certain he was raised better than this.”

Katara grimaced. “Oh yes, he definitely was.” Turning to Sokka she added “Gran Gran would make you prepare breakfast for a week for such a flouting of common decency.”

“That's no worry here! Any time I set foot in the kitchens I'm given food and shooed away. Glad you weren't naked, though. Oogie.”

Suki tried hard to muffle her laugh, but it leaked around the edge of her stifling hand. She cleared her throat and cast her gaze around the room desperately. Her eyes stopped on Katara. “Ooh, Katara, are those new beads in your hair? They're so pretty! The color really glows against your hair.”

Katara grinned. “Yes,” she acknowledged, “Aang sent them to me. I got them last night.”

Sokka turned to face her directly. “You've heard from Aang?” he asked, looking intently into his sister's face.

“Yes, he wrote that he is heading to the Eastern Air Temple.” Katara met Sokka's gaze. 

“How...I mean, did he say how he's doing? What he's doing?”

Katara retrieved Aang's letter. She brushed her fingers lightly over Aang's name, then reluctantly handed it to Sokka. He read it quickly then gave it back to Katara.

“Well, at least he wrote to one of us. And if he's going a bit hungry, I have to say it serves him right for running off like that. Speaking of being hungry, Suki and I were hoping you'd come to breakfast with us, spend a bit more time together before you leave?”

“I'd like that,” Katara said. She shook her head and added “I can't believe you woke up this early to have breakfast with me.”

Suki laughed and answered “Oh, he was very resistant to getting up before the sun, but I insisted. I don't want to miss any of our training session this morning. Ty Lee is demonstrating a chi-blocking technique.” 

Katara and Sokka winced simultaneously, recalling how devastating chi-blocking felt. Suki stepped between and slung her arms around the both their waists. “She's on our side now” Suki chided as she steered them out of Katara's room.

They found Hakoda, Toph, and Zuko already sitting at the table in the dining area, laughing together. Katara took the sight with a pleased smile. They looked completely comfortable with each other. Katara acknowledged a bit of surprise at her father's ease in such a grand setting. He looked as at home in the gleaming wood-paneled space with its glossy furniture and polished floors as he did in a simple water tribe tent. Sokka pulled out a chair for Suki, then dropped into the seat between her and Hakoda. 

“What's so funny” Katara asked as she slid into the chair next to her Toph.

Hakoda's smile grew even broader when he saw Katara. “Good morning, Katara. Zuko was telling us about his pre-dawn workout with Li and Lo. It seems they have little reverence for his office.”

Zuko nodded ruefully and offered Katara a beautifully enameled tea pot. “The less said about their lack of reverence, the better.” His tone was aggrieved, but his slight smile revealed that he too saw the humor in the situation.

“I'm glad someone will take up the helm of keeping your pride in check in my absence,” Katara teased as she accepted the pot and poured some of the grass-green drink into the delicate porcelain cup in front of her. Like the teapot and nearly everything in the palace, it was red and gold. She was really looking forward to not being surrounded by Fire Nation colors.

Toph snorted laughter at the comment. Katara handed the teapot to Sokka, who poured tea for himself and Suki. They all sipped their tea in a companionable silence as they waited for Zuko's staff to bring in the meal. 

Sokka addressed his family. “Are you two almost ready to leave?” He paused for a moment, then added “not that I'm eager for you to go!

The arrival of three servants bearing large trays of food interrupted Katara's response. In front of each diner they set down three dishes—one containing steamed rice, one holding a thin savory soup with bright green onions floating in it, and one with flaky broiled fish. Katara closed her eyes and savored the delicious scents. While she was still a bit uneasy being surrounded by Fire Nation imagery, Fire Nation cuisine was wonderful. Sokka seemed to forget his question in the presence of food, but Katara answered anyway.

“I'm ready. I didn't have much to pack and I took care of that last night.” she told the table at large. “It's weird to be going without you, Sokka.”

A sense of sorrow seemed to settle over the group at the realization that a further splintering of their team was at hand. No one spoke much as they finished their breakfasts.

Katara was about to stand and leave when a stutter of footsteps sounded and a harried-looking Haru rushed in.

“Good, you're here!” Haru nearly yelled. 

“Oh, hi, Haru!” Katara smiled at her friend. “I didn't realize you were still in the Fire Nation. Aren't you anxious to get back home?”

Haru looked down at his feet and cleared his throat before answering. “Uh. Certain things have kept me here.” He paused for a breath, gathering resolve. Then he looked not to Katara, but to her father. He seemed oblivious to the other occupants of the room, who were watching or, in Toph's case, listening to, him quite attentively.

“Chief Hakoda, sir, may I please have permission to court your daughter?” Haru asked so quickly that it took a moment for Katara to make sense of his words.

What!? Haru wanted to court her? Katara blinked in shock at the tall earthbender. She had no inkling he thought of her that way. She examined him covertly while his attention was on her father. He was handsome, she supposed, muscular and tall with very nice hair. But she didn't think of him romantically! Did she? 

No. Definitely not. He was a friend, but she didn't regard him romantically. Once they'd exhausted the topic of how the Fire Nation had hurt them, they hadn't had anything else to talk about. It hadn't been at all like talking to Aang. She could talk to Aang for days on end without running out of things to say. Or did that mean she was too comfortable with Aang? Did romance require some degree of mystery? But no, when Aang so much as glanced her way her heart raced. A look from Haru inspired no such physical response.

She realized her mind had wandered when her father spoke.

“Why would you ask me such a thing? The only person who can say whether you can court Katara or not is Katara.” Hakoda's tone was entirely mystified. “Have you asked your father if you are ready to court someone? That would be more appropriate than asking me.”

Hakoda looked toward his daughter and his expression seemed caught between sympathy and mirth. His quirked lips invited her to share in his puzzlement over the odd ways of outsiders. And she did, but she also had a care for Haru's feelings. He was a kind person and did not deserve ridicule for following his heart.

Haru turned bright red and cast his eyes toward Katara. “So I guess it's too much to ask that you pretend you didn't hear that?” he asked her with a sheepish expression.

Katara successfully restrained a laugh and nodded gravely instead. “Let's talk about this away from all these staring people,” she suggested.

“I'm not staring!” Toph insisted with a devious grin.

Sokka muttered in what he thought was sotto voce, “mind your feet, then.”

Katara rose and led Haru through the sliding doors at one end of the chamber. They opened into a beautiful courtyard filled with fragrant blooming plants. Luscious floral scents and the calming sound of water splashing filled her senses. She circled the large stone fountain so that the noise from the water would cover the sound of their conversation for all but Toph. 

With a hint of trepidation Katara turned to face Haru directly. “Haru, I'm so flattered that you thought to court me, but I don't wish to be courted by you.”

Haru flinched and closed his eyes briefly. Then he met Katara's steady gaze before quickly looking away as he said “Okay. I had to try. You're the bravest girl I've ever met and I really like you. And you're so pretty.”

Katara smiled gently, “I really like you, too. As a friend. I hope we can still be friends.” She glanced up into his face then quickly cut her eyes to the fountain, uncomfortable with the sudden look of realization filling Haru's handsome face.

Haru sat on the low stone edge of the fountain and dipped a hand into the pool of water that filled the base. Casually, he remarked “Aang is a lucky guy.”

Katara started. “What? No! It's not like that. Aang is just my friend, too.”

Haru stared at her in silence, a look of challenge lifting his brows. Katara felt her cheeks heat. After a beat of uncomfortable silence, Katara sighed and sat down next to him on the fountain's edge.

“Is it so obvious? Do you think he knows,” she paused, trying to choose words that wouldn't expose her too much, “how I feel? I don't want him to know if he doesn't feel the same.”

Haru chuckled and leaned slightly to bump his shoulder against one of hers. “Because a friendship could never survive one-sided romantic feelings?” he asked ruefully.

Katara blushed more fiercely. “Oh. No. It could. I didn't mean...” She trailed off, abashed.

“I know.” Haru reassured her, “And I don't think your feelings for him are unrequited. Truthfully, I thought his for you were. You kept your Pai Sho tiles well hidden, but he is an open scroll.”

Katara was unfamiliar with the expression. “An open scroll?”

“Easy to read. I'm pretty sure he had a crush on you even when we first met.” Haru explained.

“You're being very kind to someone who just turned you down.” Katara said wonderingly.

Haru shrugged and responded “I'm a pretty nice person. And this nice person wants you to be happy. If Aang makes you happy, you should tell him how you feel.”

Katara let out a long breath. She tilted her head back and examined the patch of blue sky visible above the courtyard walls. “I don't know how much I can open myself up to possible hurt.”

Haru placed a hand over one of hers for a moment. “Love is worth the risk of pain, don't you think?” He rose, saying “I need to get back to my dad. He received compensation for his imprisonment yesterday, so we're going back home today. If you're ever near our home, you'll always find a welcome.”

He walked away, leaving Katara sitting on the edge of a fountain with her mind in a muddle. After a few minutes the scent and sound of the burbling water soothed her troubled thoughts and she rose to rejoin her family and friends.

She found all eyes fixed on her when she came through the door. She suddenly decided she wasn't ready to face their questions and comments. Katara quickly took her leave of the others, pointedly ignoring the buzz of questions and comments swirling around her. 

“I have one more thing to do before I can leave” she tossed over her shoulder as she nearly ran into the hall. She didn't slow down until she reached the sanctuary of her room.

Sighing in relief, Katara sat down and closed her eyes for a few minutes. She thought carefully about what she wanted Aang to know and what she expected from him. She tried to find balance between her affection for him and her anger over how he left. After a few deep breaths, she began to write.

Then, before she could doubt herself further, she stuffed the message into the bamboo tube Zuko had provided and left to find the messenger hawk Sabi. Zuko said she could find the bird in the same stable where Appa had slept before Aang departed. The walk gave her time to reconsider and doubt her words. She'd always found Aang so easy to talk to and couldn't bear this sudden insecurity over what to say to him. However Katara didn't allow her flip-flopping to change her path. She found Sabi and secured the message to his leg before her courage could flag, instructing him “Deliver this to Avatar Aang at the Eastern Air Temple.”

The beautiful golden bird stretched upward and was airborne with three mighty beats of his wings. Air stirred by his movement ruffled her hair as she watched until he was a slight blur on the horizon. She panicked for a moment, wishing she could call the message back. Had she been too harsh? Would Aang give up on her?

Resolutely, she turned back toward the palace. She'd been so intent on her goal as she walked out that her surroundings hadn't impinged on her consciousness, so she felt a moment of disbelief at how bright the sky had grown. The sun had climbed higher and blotted out the the last traces of stars and moon. It was time to head north.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been posting this on Fanfiction.net. Since I have posted the other two things I've written here, I figured I'd share this one, too. The other site is kinda irritating me.


End file.
